


Sins of the Father

by PhantomFS



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Family, New Palace, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-05-28 12:36:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15049217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomFS/pseuds/PhantomFS
Summary: When an unexpected phone call goes awry, Akira Kurusu's life becomes a much darker place. Despite his separation from his "family", he never wanted his mom to get hurt. When all seems lost, his redheaded companion makes a shocking discovery which will change Akira forever, sending the leader of the Phantom Thieves back to the one place he never wanted to see again: Home.





	1. An Unexpected Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short note to give context to where this story takes place. The note contains spoilers, but the story itself should be fairly spoiler free. I may make minor references, but the story itself is supposed to function as a stand-alone story within the Persona 5 universe.
> 
> The story takes place between the Phantom Thieves stealing the heart of Masayoshi Shido and Shido confessing his crimes to the people of Japan. Though, as mentioned, not many references to current events will be brought up as to avoid spoilers for those who have not finished the game as well as to keep the focus of the story on the plot I'm writing.

Akira’s dark eyes fluttered open, making a noise which barely sounded human as he stretched his arms and back and looked out the window. It was early in the morning, unusually early for him to be awake on his day off.

He looked down at the black mass of fur which was his pet cat and partner Morgana who was still asleep at his feet. He thought about waking him up, but then decided against it as there was no point. He had no plans for today, other than maybe hanging out with his girlfriend, Futaba.

He shifted his legs off of the bed and sat up, once again stretching his back, smelling the thick scent of freshly brewed coffee in the air. Despite it being early, Sojiro was almost certainly here already, brewing coffee for his early regulars.

Akira pushed himself to his feet and ran his hand through his fluffy hair, causing it to poof up even more. He walked over to the box on the shelf which contained all of his clothes and pulled out some jeans, pulling them over his black boxers. He was already wearing a shirt, but he decided to change it as well seeing as he slept in it. He replaced his current shirt with a plain black t-shirt, feeling too lazy to find anything special.

As he bent over to turn on his television, he heard a familiar voice call from the bottom of the stairs.

“Hey, kid. Come down here. You’ve...uh...got a phone call.”

Akira rubbed the back of his neck in confusion. Who could Sojiro possibly be referring to? Who would even think to call him in a way that wasn’t via his cellphone?

“Who is it?”

“It’s...your, uh, parents.”

Akira felt like his heart had stopped for a moment. His entire body froze for a moment and he felt as if his eyes were on the brink of popping out of his eye sockets. He felt like he was about to die as his breathing became shallow. Was this...panic? Akira had never experienced it before. He wondered if this is how Futaba felt whenever she had one of her panic attacks. He prayed that wasn’t the case, as he wouldn’t wish this hell upon anybody.

When he finally managed to pull himself together, Akira walked out of his room and onto the stairway, looking down at his guardian and father-figure, Sojiro. He was holding his cellphone against his shoulder and his eyes were filled with worry, uncharacteristically of him.

‘You okay?’ The older man mouthed at Akira.

Akira didn’t really respond, unable to come up with a reasonable answer. Akira didn’t even really know how he was feeling, other than completely exhausted. It must have shown on his face, because Sojiro never really worried about Akira.

 Sojiro handed his open cellphone to Akira, and Akira took it and walked back up the stairs, sitting in the chair next to his bed.

“...Hello?”

“Akira?” The voice on the other end was somehow both familiar and foreign. It was a woman’s voice, the voice of his mother, Hinata Kurusu. “It’s...it’s your mother.”

There was a brief pause of silence as Akira formulated a response in his head.

“Yeah, mom. I know.”

“I wanted to check on you, see how you’re doing.”

“Makes sense, seeing as you’ve had no idea what I’ve been up to in the last 8 months,” he responded, a twinge of anger and frustration building up in his voice.

There wasn’t a response for a good few seconds. Akira knew he had just hurt his mother’s feelings a bit. And he didn’t care in the slightest.

“How is school going? Are you...making friends? Is Sojiro treating you well?”

“School is fine,” he responded, talking a bit quickly to get through her questions, “I finished my last set of midterms in the top ten of my class. I’ve made a few friends, nothing crazy. And...Sojiro is treating me really well.”

“I’m happy to hear that, son. I’m glad you’re doing well,” she said, pausing before moving on to another thought. “Son, um… Your father wants to speak with you.”

Akira’s eyebrows scrunched up together. His father made him almost just as angry as Shido. He could still imagine the complete dismissiveness of his father when Akira tried to tell him what truly happened.

“Alright. Put him on.”

“I love you, son.”

Akira remained silent, waiting for several seconds before a new voice replaced that of his mother on the other side of the phone.

“Akira?” The voice on the other end was deep and gruff, the voice of Touma Kurusu, Akira’s father.

“Dad,” Akira responded flatly.

“I assume you’ve been staying out of trouble and obeying your probation?”

The question was almost enough to send Akira into a rage, but Morgana noticed Akira’s distressed face and crawled into his lap, looking up at him with his big blue eyes with worry, causing Akira to sigh and relax at least somewhat.

“Yes, father. I’ve been staying out of trouble. Not that I went looking for it in the first place...”

“Now, you listen here, young man. You’re speaking with the same tone of voice you spoke with me before you left. We sent you to live in Tokyo to learn how to be a respectable young man, but if you plan on returning home as the same brat that we sent off, you might as well stay where you are!”

Akira’s face suddenly morphed, turning into an absolute scowl with his eyes piercing daggers into the air. Akira was no longer present, Akira’s father was now speaking to Joker, and he was _not_ happy.

“I’ll take that as you giving me your permission to stay right where I am, in a place where I’ve been treated better by my friends,” he paused to rise up to his feet, Morgana quickly jumping to the bed, “than I was ever treated by my bastard father!”

“How dare you speak to your father that way! If that’s how you’re going to speak to me, perhaps I don’t have a son at all!”

“Touma-!” Akira could hear his mother’s voice speak in the distance, before hearing a sharp cry.

“You son of a bitch!” Akira shouted into the phone, his eyes practically in a blaze. “How dare you hurt my mother!”

There was no response on the other end, just a thick and heavy silence. After a few moments, Akira heard a click and Sojiro’s phone went dark.

Akira just stood there in stunned silence, his eyes locked on the silent phone. Morgana watched him from the bed, scared to approach him when he was angry.

“A-Akira...” Morgana said, his voice quiet and a bit shaky. It wasn’t very often that anyone saw Akira’s angry side, and it was certainly a frightening sight.

After a long moment of silence, Akira closed the phone and grabbed his bag. “I’m going out,” he said, before walking down the stairs. Morgana did not follow him.

He walked down the stairs and placed Sojiro’s phone at the bar.

“Hey, I heard shouting. Is everything-”

Sojiro never got the chance to finish his thought, as Akira stormed out the front door of Leblanc and walked down the street.

“Oh boy...” Sojiro said quietly to himself.

A few minutes later, the door opened again, signified by the bell.

“Akira, are you okay- Oh, Futaba. It’s you.”

Indeed, as Sojiro turned to the door, he noticed that it wasn’t the black haired teen which had walked through the door, but rather, a short girl with long red hair and glasses walked through, a big grin on her face.

“Hey, Sojiro! I’m just here to see Akira. Don’t worry, I won’t get in your way.”

Futaba started towards the stairs when Sojiro spoke up, “He’s not here.”

Futaba’s smile wavered and then disappeared. He should’ve been home. “Where did he go?”

“I...don’t know,” Sojiro responded, looking nervous.

“I’ll go look for him!” Futaba said, finding her confidence again, doing a half-jog towards the front door.

“Hold on, Futaba.”

Futaba stopped and turned around, her head tilting in confusion as she listened to the old man.

“Before the kid left, he had just talked to his parents on the phone. When he left, he stormed out looking angrier than I’ve ever seen him. I’m not gonna stop you, but...promise me you’ll be careful.”

Futaba’s eyes filled with concern, but also determination. “I’ll be careful, Sojiro. Don’t worry.”

Sojiro nodded, and Futaba took off out the door.

* * *

 

Futaba walked up and down the streets of Yongen-Jaya several times, looking at places where Akira could be. She had been searching for almost half an hour and was having no luck.

Starting to feel defeat, she sat down on the step outside of a building and put her head in her hands.

After a few minutes, the door behind her opened, causing Futaba to jump. “Ah!”

“Oh. Sorry,” said the person who walked out the door. Futaba turned around and saw a tall woman with short blue hair and a white lab coat, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“N-No, it’s okay, it’s my fault… I didn’t realize I was sitting outside your, uh...” Futaba’s eyes glanced over at the sign on the wall next to her. It was covered in graffiti, but it was still readable, “...clinic?”

“We all need a break sometimes,” she shrugged.

Futaba nodded in agreement, but then her eyes lit up as she remembered something, looking back at the sign again. “Wait, are you by any chance Dr. Tae Takemi?”

The tall woman looked at her cautiously, but nodded, “Yes, I am. Why?”

“You know my boyfriend, Akira Kurusu, right?”

Tae’s face softened a little bit upon hearing that this small girl was Akira’s girlfriend.

“Yes, I do. He’s been helping me with clinical trials recently. Has something happened to him?”

Futaba nodded. “He left home really angry, and now I can’t find him anywhere. Do you have any ideas where he might be?”

Takemi thought about it for a moment and then nodded as if coming up with a solution and agreeing with herself in her own head. “Have you tried the batting cages? He once told me that he goes there when he’s frustrated, something about it being good for blowing off steam, y'know?”

Futaba’s eyes lit up as Takemi spoke. “No, I haven’t! I didn’t even think to check there. I’ll go there right away. Thank you, Dr. Takemi!”

As Futaba took off down the street, the corners of Takemi’s lips curved into a small smile. “Good luck, kid,” she said quietly to herself.

* * *

 

**WHACK!**

**WHACK!**

**WHACK!**

**WHACK!**

The sound of the bat cracking against the speeding ball filled the batting cages over and over again as Akira swung the wooden stick with all his might until finally the ball smashing into the target at the top of the room, prompting a small fanfare to play from the speakers.

Akira’s forehead was covered in sweat, and his arms were getting sore. He set down the bat and checked his phone. He had been at this for almost an hour. His anger had faded away at some point, being replaced with exhaustion.

As he was wrapping up, setting the bat down against the wall, a familiar and pleasant voice filled his ears. “Akira?”

Akira turned and met the lilac eyes of his loving girlfriend, who stood with her hands behind her back and her feet close together. She looked a little nervous but still determined.

“Taba. What’re you doing here?” He asked. His voice was gentle but mostly tired.

“I...heard about what happened. At least, sorta. I got worried. I wanted to check on you.”

Akira sighed. He didn’t like it when Futaba was worried. It made her prone to panic.

“Come on, let’s go find somewhere to talk. My time here is up anyway.”

* * *

 

Akira and Futaba were now back at Leblanc, sitting in a booth. They sat across from each other, a coffee sitting in front of each of them. Sojiro, recognizing the seriousness of the situation, decided that he needed to go on an emergency shopping trip and closed up shop to give the two some time alone.

Futaba had tears in her eyes as Akira told her about the things his father had said to him, how his father had hit his mother. She couldn’t believe that such an evil man could be related to the man she loved with all her heart.

“Akira… I-I-I don’t even know what to say...” She was doing everything she could to not break down in gross sobbing.

At this point, Akira took a final drink of his coffee before placing the mug in front of him and stood up, walking over to Futaba and sitting down next to her. He wrapped an arm around her and she buried her face in his chest.

“D-Dammit, Akira. I’m supposed to be comforting y-you! Not t-the other way a-around,” she said, tears now flowing freely from her eyes and into his shirt.

Akira was no longer angry. He was tired and worried about his girlfriend. He held the redheaded girl close and stroked her hair, letting her clear herself of her tears.

After she finally pulled herself together, Futaba looked up at Akira. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her face was wet with tears. She clearly wanted to say something, but she was struggling to find the words.

“Akira… What are you going to do?”

Akira paused, looking away from Futaba. He hadn’t thought about it. He had been trying _not_ to think about it. But now, here he was, being confronted by both reality and the love of his life.

“I don’t know.”

Futaba was quiet, deep in thought as she tried to formulate the best response she could think of.

“I’m scared.”

“Me too, Taba. Me too.”

The couple stayed as they were for awhile, with Futaba resting her head on Akira’s shoulder and Akira stroking Futaba’s hair. At some point, Futaba started to doze off, her breathing getting a bit deeper. Akira wanted to take her home, but he didn’t want to wake her up.

Akira slid one arm under Futaba’s legs and wrapped the other around her back, lifting from her from the booth. Her eyes fluttered open and she tried to protest, but she didn’t have the energy, and just leaned her head against Akira’s chest again.

He walked her up the stairs to his room and gently placed her on his bed, kissing her on the forehead which prompted her to smile in her sleep. Akira couldn’t help but smile at how cute she was when she was sleeping.

When Akira finally turned to walk downstairs, Akira saw Morgana sitting on the table at the back of the room near the stairs.

“You okay?” Morgana asked quietly, not wanting to wake up Futaba.

Akira nodded. “Sorry if I scared you earlier. I just lost my temper...”

Morgana shook his head. “No, don’t apologize. I understand. Just make sure you tell the same thing to Sojiro when he gets home.”

Akira nodded.

“I’m hungry,” Morgana concluded.

Akira chuckled quietly.

“Come on, I’ll make you some curry.”

* * *

 

Akira sat at the counter, drinking deeply from his mug filled with his own freshly brewed coffee. He had just cleared his plate of curry, with Morgana still eating his. Akira was feeling much better now, after having spent time with his girlfriend and eating a fine meal with his companion.

Just then, the bell on the door range as Sojiro walked in, a bag of groceries on his arm. He walked over to the counter and put the bag down.

“Put this stuff away. I don’t want the perishables to go bad,” Sojiro said. He didn’t seem angry, but he also didn’t seem like he was sure of how to handle the situation.

Akira did as he was asked without argument. He didn’t mind helping Sojiro around the cafe, he actually got quite a lot of fulfillment out of it.

“Where’s Futaba?” Sojiro asked, brewing himself some coffee.

“She tired herself out earlier. I didn’t want to wake her up so I put her in my room. She’s still asleep, as far as I know.”

Sojiro nodded. It wasn’t unusual for Futaba to fall asleep suddenly.

“Are you...okay?” It was clear Sojiro wasn’t sure how to handle everything that went on earlier, but he still cared for Akira and wanted to at least check on him.

Akira nodded. “Yeah, Boss. I’m okay.”

“Good. Look, um… I know I’m not very good at this stuff, but if you ever wanna talk about it, I’m still your guardian, and...”

Akira gave him a small smile. “It’s okay, Sojiro. I’ll remember that. Thanks.”

Sojiro simply nodded in response.

“Hey, Sojiro, can I ask you something?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Sure. What’s up?”

“If I decided that I wanted to stay in Tokyo after my probation ended, would you...”

Before Akira could finish the thought, there was a loud commotion from upstairs. It was the sound of feet pounding against the attic floor.

“What the-!” Sojiro was cut off by Futaba, her glasses falling off of her face and her hair a wild mess appearing at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes were bright and she looked excited.

“Akira! I found something!”

Akira’s eyes were wide with surprise as he blinked at the small girl in confusion. She ran up to Akira, doing a slight hop, holding her phone in front of her and pointed towards Akira. He took a closer look and realized that Futaba had the Meta-Nav open, showing the results of a Palace. He read the name in the search bar.

“Touma Kurusu.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this was both depressing and exhausting. 
> 
> I'm really excited to get this work out to you! I've got a lot planned for it. If you liked it, please let me know! Honestly, I'm still getting used to writing again and I'm sure that shows. But the more people show interest in this story, the more encouraged I'll be to write! That said, Chapter 2 will hopefully be ready within the next few days so stayed tuned for that!
> 
> If you have any comments or suggestions or criticisms, please, please, please leave me a comment! I'm always trying to improve myself and my writing so I'm always open to criticism.
> 
> And, finally, thank you very much for reading my story!


	2. The Calm Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akria and Futaba arrive in Akira's hometown in one piece, and so far everything is going smoothly. They spend some quality time together in the hotel room, but time is of the essence, and no moment no matter how lovely can last forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a disclaimed going forward. This chapter is more set-up and Akira x Futaba fluff. You should definitely still read it, but at this point, if you're not on board the Futaba x Akira train, you might wanna leave the station now. Like I've mentioned in the past, no hard feelings if that's the case!

Akira sat on the train, his hands resting in his lap, albeit they were fidgeting with each other. It had been 8 months since he had been home, yet here he was, heading straight back towards the place of his banishment.

He thought back on the events which lead up to this point. His phone call with his parents, talking with Futaba, Futaba finding out his father had a palace, letting Futaba convince him to steal his father’s treasure… It all happened so fast, Akira felt like he was getting whiplash.

He tried to relax, but he just couldn’t. He didn’t want to be spotted in his hometown, so he knew he would have to operate at night. If someone he knew spotted him, they’d surely tell his parents and the whole plan would be ruined.

Trying to shake off the anxiety, he thought about the plan ahead. He knew of a hotel in town which he had called ahead and secured himself a room which he would make his temporary base of operations. He figured he could just work at night when the small town was fast asleep.

Akira had never felt so nervous about anything in his life. He probably would’ve had a breakdown by now, had it not been for…

“Akira? You okay?”

Akira blinked rapidly as if being woken up from a trance. He looked over at Futaba, who was looking up at him with her big lilac eyes which showed signs of concern.

The fact that Futaba was here with him at all was an absolute miracle. To convince Sojiro to let her go with him, Futaba had to sit down and try to convince him for almost three hours, which included Akira getting the old “If my daughter comes back pregnant, I will disown you, kick you out, and then kill you” conversation, as well as the condition that they would check in with Sojiro every night via phone. But, by some miracle, here she was. Truthfully, Akira was genuinely excited about getting to spend a good amount of alone time with Futaba, including getting to sleep in the same bed with her. And, Akira knew he wasn’t going to complete this operation alone. He needed his Navigator.

Akira considered lying to Futaba about his anxiety. He didn’t want to worry her. But, he knew that she would see right through that. Fearing that she would get upset with him, he decided to take the route of honesty.

“I’m really anxious about all this. Out of all of the operations we’ve pulled so far...”

“This one has the most personal stakes for you,” Futaba nodded understandingly.

“Mhmm,” Akira replied. “If I miss this up, I could accidentally kill my own dad...”

“Shhhhhhhhhhhhh,” Futaba hushed him, sitting up on her knees and putting a finger over his lips. “Thoughts like that are prohibited! You’re not gonna mess this up.”

She wrapped his hands around Akira’s arm and leaned close to his ear, whispering, “The Joker I know is smart, skilled, and an amazing leader. You won’t screw this up. I just know you won’t.”

Futaba placed a hand on Akira’s left cheek, pulling him closer and pressing her lips to his right. Akira’s face promptly burst into a bright red with surprise. It was really unusual for Futaba to be so affectionate. Normally Akira was the one to instigate such things. But when Akira turned and looked at Futaba, her face was slightly pink but her eyes were fierce and determined.

Unable to find words, Akira just wrapped his arms around the girl and pulled her into a deep hug. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” Akira muttered.

“You stole my heart,” she whispered back, melting into the embrace, a content smile on her face.

After a moment, the couple separated and Futaba went from sitting on her knees to laying down with her head in Joker’s lap.

“Can I sleep like this until we get there?” She asked, her voice and face showing signs of exhaustion. After all, it was late. Akira and Futaba had left the same day they had come up with the plan and caught the late train to Akira’s hometown.

“Of course. I’ll wake you up when we’re close.”

“Okidoke. N’night, boyfriend,” she mumbled, before curling up into a ball and falling fast asleep.

* * *

 

“Attention passengers. We will be arriving in Wabanoi Station in 10 minutes. I repeat we will be arriving in Wabanoi Station in 10 minutes.”

Akira’s eyes fluttered open at the voice over the intercom. He didn’t know when he had fallen asleep, but what he did know was that it was morning now. The light was just peaking in through the windows as the sun began to ascend over the horizon.

He looked down and saw Futaba still fast asleep in his lap, a content smile on her face. ‘She looks so cute when she’s sleeping,’ Akira thought to himself, but he knew he had to wake her up.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her very gently, saying, “Taba, we’re almost at the station. You gotta wake up now.”

She groaned in response, her eyes refusing to open. “Five more minutes, Sojiro...”

Akira smiled at her silly response and moved his hand to stroke her hair. That was enough to at least get her to open her eyes and look up at Akira.

“Ohhhh yeahhhh,” she said, sleepily, as if remembering something, “I’m with boyfriend, not at home.”

“That’s right, Taba. You’re with boyfriend.”

“Yay,” she said happily, snuggling tighter up against Akira.

“You gotta start getting up, Taba. We’ll be at the station really soon. You can sleep in a real bed once we get to the hotel.”

Futaba pondered this for a moment, making many “Hmmmmm” sounds.

“Can I sleep in the same real bed as you, boyfriend?”

Akira, who too was still tired, responded with a small smile and saying, “Of course you can."

Finally, Futaba conceded and pushed herself to a sitting position, her hair a tangled and slightly frizzy mess from the way she was laying in Akira’s lap.

“Okay, okay. You win,” Futaba said, rubbing her eyes with one hand while fumbling to find her glasses with the other.

As Futaba finally managed to find her glasses and slip them over her eyes, the train began to make a high pitched squeal as the breaks were engaged and the train began to slow. After a minute, it finally reached a full stop and the doors slid open.

“You have now arrived at Wabanoi Station.”

“You ready for this?” Futaba asked, looking at Akira.

As Futaba examined her boyfriend’s face, she knew she wasn’t talking to Akira at this exact moment. His face was tight and his eyes burned with intensity. This was not the face of Akira. This was the face of Joker.

“Yeah,” he responded, “let’s go.”

* * *

 

About an hour later, the couple finally managed to track down the hotel. So far, they had been able to avoid being seen by anybody whom Akira recognized. It was likely still too early for anybody to be active, and those who were out were headed for work.

Akira pushed open the door to the hotel, allowing Futaba to walk through the door first. He followed after her, his eyes scanning every portion of the room.

The lobby was simple, to be expected from a fairly cheap hotel. The floor was wood, with light from the lamps on the ceiling reflecting off of it. There were a handful of glass tables scattered throughout the room, with short square cushions for chairs surrounding them. The desk in the center of the room was made of wood, and it simply contained a computer screen sitting in front of a young Japanese woman who was behind the counter.

Futaba sat on a chair while Akira walked up to the counter. As he approached, the woman behind the counter smiled at him and said, “Good morning, sir! How many I help you?”

“I called ahead. I have a room booked for two?” Akira pulled out his phone and showed the woman the email which he received confirming his order.

“Okay! Just give me one moment,” the woman responded, turning her attention to the computer. She tapped away at the keyboard for a few moments before nodded slightly, and turning her attention back to Akira, handing him a keycard. “Your room is Room 2-C. That’s the second floor, third down the hall to the right.”

Akira gave a polite smile and responded, “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Of course! We hope you enjoy your stay!”

Akira turned back and looked at Futaba, giving her a nod. She grabbed her bags, which were sitting in front of her feet, and she got up and walked over to Akira.

“Allow me to show you to your room, miss,” Akira said, partially teasingly, partially seductively.

Futaba giggled, her face blushing slightly in response.

“I’ll follow your lead, sir.”

Akira and Futaba were walking upstairs when Futaba made a “Hm” sound.

“Something on your mind?” Akira asked quizzically.

“Yeah, actually,” Futaba responded. “Where’s Mona? Why didn’t he come with us?”

Akira chuckled slightly, saying, “Morgana understood that this was a personal situation for me. He said, ‘I’ll stay back and hold down the fort. This is your mission, Leader. I have faith that you can pull it off without me.’”

Akira paused before following up the thought, saying, “Though, in hindsight, I think he wanted to give the two of us the chance to have this time alone. After all, he hears me complain about not getting to spend enough time with you more than you do!”

Futaba nodded and then smiled. “That Mona. Sure, he can act all big and tough. But when it comes down to it, he’s a real softy!”

Akira and Futaba both laughed, but the laughter was quickly cut off by an audible grumble. Both paused in their tracks, and Akira slowly turned to look at Futaba, and then he looked down at her stomach.

“Was that...”

“...I’m hungry,” were all the words a blushing Futaba could muster.

Akira had to suppress a surge of laughter. “Come on. When we get to the room, I’ll get you some breakfast.”

“Can you cook me something? Akira, make me some curry!” Futaba said excitedly.

“Let’s see if they even have a kitchen in the rooms first,” he responded.

“Oooookayyyyyyy,” she groaned, feeling her stomach growl again. 

* * *

 

Akira's eyes fluttered open, gazing up at the hotel room ceiling. He drifted his view to the digital clock hung up on the wall. Five in the afternoon? He was confused. When had so much time passed?

Suddenly, Akira had a realization. He felt heavier than normal. He looked down and discovered an exceptionally cute weight sprawled across him. Futaba was lying next to him, her head next to his shoulder, her arm stretching over his stomach and her leg stretched over both of his legs. Her eyes were closed and her hair was once again messy, but she had the biggest and most beautiful smile Akira had ever seen on her face. Akira could feel Futaba's chest rise and fall with each gentle breath, and he smiled as he watched her sleep.

But even Akira knew that something more important was coming. He turned his head and looked out the window. The sun was starting to set, and they would need to get ready to move. 

Akira moved his hand to Futaba and ran it gently through her long red hair. 

"Taba, sweetheart, it's time to wake up."

To Akira's surprise, her eyes opened instantly and she looked up at him.

"Good morning, boyfriend," she said with a smile. "I wasn't really asleep. I was just enjoying the moment."

Akira smiled at her. "I understand. This was the first time we've gotten to be in the same bed together without worrying about Sojiro."

Futaba nodded in agreement and snuggled up against Akira's arm. "You fell asleep pretty suddenly. Do you even remember what happened?"

"Nope," Akira responded. 

"We got to the hotel room, and you started acting pretty weird. So I did what Morgana would've done and put your cute butt to bed. You fell asleep almost instantly. But I was still hungry! So, I went down to the hotel's kitchen and got myself some food. Of course, I got you something too. I put it in the fridge in case you're hungry!"

Akira nodded. "You're a great girlfriend, did you know that?" 

Futaba blushed and hid her face under Akira's arm. 

"I love you, Futaba," Akira whispered, before pushing his head forwards and kissing the top of her head. Futaba looked up at Akira, her face even redder than before. Her small smile slowly grew and Akira could see the cogs in her brain turning by looking at her eyes. 

What she did next surprised Akira more than his first time visiting the Metaverse with Ryuji.

Futaba's leg slid the rest of the way over Akira until she had a leg on either side of him. She sat up and placed her hands on Akira's chest before grabbing his shirt and pulling herself into his lips, kissing him deeply for several seconds.

Finally, she broke the kiss and looked deep into Akira's eyes and with a seductive smirk said, "I love you too, boyfriend."

After that, Futaba crawled off of Akira and said, "We should start getting ready," before walking off towards the bathroom, trying to hide her own surprise at her actions. 

Akira laid his head back on the pillow, touching his lips with his fingers, trying to process what just took place. 'She is really getting brave,' Akira thought to himself, smiling.

Finally, he too managed to crawl out of bed and looked over at the window. It was almost time to get started.

Once the sun sets, the Phantom Thief duo of Joker and Oracle would begin what was arguably the most important heist of the entire career. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A second chapter in the bag! I've got an even clearer picture of where this story is going now, so I hope you're just as excited as I am! I understand that this chapter is a bit less plot important, but I wanted to put at least one chapter aside early on to get some cute fluff between Futaba and Akira before things get serious, as well as setting some stuff up which will be important later. 
> 
> As always, please feel encouraged to leave comments and criticisms below! The support I've received in my short time on Archive Of Our Own has absolutely blown me away and it's made me even more excited to bring even more PhanFiction to you. So please stay tuned! I'll have the next chapter ready before you can say, "GO TO BED!"


	3. The Shattered Port

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Futaba make their way to Arashi Seaport, the workplace of Akira's father. It takes almost no time at all for Akira to figure out his father's Meta-nav Keywords. But just as soon as he steps into the Metaverse, he suddenly wishes he hadn't.

It was cold that fall evening as Akira and Futaba moved through the town of Wabanoi. Futaba knew she wasn't in danger of being recognized, but chose anyway to forgo her tall black boots and matching shorts for a standard pair of jeans and emergency pair of converse to help her blend in. Akira had to work a bit harder, wearing the same clothes he was forced to wear at home when he was out and about, a gray hoodie with the hood up and a pair of jeans of equal normality to Futaba's. To anyone from around there, the couple just looked like a pair of normal teenagers out on a late night walk.

But that was far from the truth.

They were walking down a quiet street. The smell of seawater was increasing in intensity as they neared their destination, the dock where Akira's father worked at, Arashi Seaport. The houses were all small and had varying colors of rooves, which Futaba found odd and Akira found sickeningly nostalgic. In fact, this entire city, being out in the open, made Akira nervous. The only reason he was able to maintain his composure was because he had Futaba who had a tight grip on his hand walking beside him.

Futaba could sense Akira's nervousness. She was good at doing that with him. One glance at his face was all she needed to see his true feelings. And she didn't blame him. Futaba was nervous too. But, at the same time, she knew in her heart that there was no way her Joker was going to fail this. He was going to give it his all, and so would she! 

"We're here," Akira said, pulling Futaba from her thoughts and back down to reality. They approached a rail, and Futaba looked out at the dock. It wasn't anything special. It was fairly small compared to some ports in bigger cities. There was one freighter sitting motionless in the harbor, and Akira had mentioned earlier that freighters would occasionally show up at the port to refuel or exchange cargo. 

Despite the fact that the port was fairly standard, both Akira and Futaba were getting a bad feeling from this place. 

"This has to be the location of dad- I mean, Touma's Palace," Akira said, an empty feeling filling his stomach as the misspoken words came out. 

Futaba nodded, her hand squeezing his to comfort him from his slip of the tongue. But she knew they didn't have time to waste. They both knew that. 

Futaba pulled out her phone, opened the Meta-nav, and began to type, quietly reading out the words as she tapped away on her keyboard.

"Touma Kurusu. Arashi Sea Port. And...what did you say your dad would see this place as?" 

"Susano Industries. My dad always dreamed of owning this port and turning it into a booming business, and he said that's what he would call it if he did." 

Futaba nodded as she typed in the last few words into the Meta-nav. She went quiet as she watched it load. Watching the red circle spin in the dead silence made her heart race.

"Input accepted. Beginning navigation."

Time seemed to freeze around the couple, and the entire world seemed to tint with a purple light. Akira grabbed Futaba's hand and held it tightly as if he were afraid that she'd disappear. Futaba responded by stepping closer to Akira and wrapping her arms around his arm. 

"Don't let go of me," Futaba said, looking up at Akira with nervous but fierce eyes.

Akira looked back at her as they both began to fade away with eyes of equal ferocity. "Not while I still breathe."

* * *

 

When the world stopped spinning, Joker and Oracle found themselves in a world which seemed eerily similar to reality. They both ended up facing the town when they entered the Metaverse, and it looked exactly the same as in the real world. As they turned around, both noting that the other was now in their Metaverse clothes, they realized just how far gone Touma Kurusu was.

The dock, which was once small and unimpressive, was now a sprawling city of long docks and metal shipping containers and massive freight ships. 

"Oh my god..." Oracle muttered quietly. "It goes all the way to the horizon..." 

Joker couldn't even believe what he was seeing. He knew his father was passionate about his work, but... For Touma to see it like this, Joker knew that his father was not the man he pretended to be at home. 

"So this is the man who once claimed to love me," Joker whispered quietly, his eyes locked on the horizon. 

Hearing the words come out of the strong-willed and headstrong leader and her sweet and loving boyfriend was enough to break Oracle's heart. She was thankful that she was wearing her mask now because she didn't want Joker to see the tears rolling down her face. 

Oracle knew that there wasn't time for crying. She would do that later. She turned to Joker and lifted her mask up, taking the tears with it. She held his face in her hands and pulled him down into a gentle kiss. 

"We can do this, Joker. You'll have your navigator with you the whole time. I'll be right by your side from start to finish." 

With that, Oracle walked backward, her eyes staying locked on to Joker's. She pushed her mask back down and stretched out her arms. 

"Persona."

A pillar of blue flames shot up into the sky from around Oracle and formed into a fairly sizeable sphere. Slowly the flames faded away a black orb covered in glowing lines hovered in the sky ominously above Oracle. The lines which took on the form of a smiling face on the bottom seemed to grow wider as a hole in the bottom of the sphere opened up and several mechanical arms lowered themselves down and surrounded Futaba. Two arms with claws on the ends clamped around Futaba's wrists. Another, much larger arm hooked under Oracle's legs and scooped her off of her feet, slowly raising her into the air. 

From where he stood, Joker could see Oracle looking down at him as she rose into the air as if she were being abducted by aliens. But rather than screaming and squirming like a normal human, Oracle was grinning at him from ear to ear. He watched her closely and saw her lips move. Joker couldn't hear her words, but he knew what she said.

"I love you too, my Oracle."

Finally, Oracle was gone, disappearing into the bowls of Prometheus. 

"Joker? Do you read me?" 

Joker was never really sure how Futaba was able to communicate with the Phantom Thieves from inside Prometheus. But, to be frank, he was too afraid to ask her.

"Copy, Oracle. I read you."

"Good. I'll stay in the air and provide my usual support. Remember, you're going to be alone when it comes to direct combat. So, be extra careful, got it?"

"Got it," Joker agreed. He had been in combat situations alone before, but those were always in Mementos. He wasn't sure what sneaking through a Palace alone would be like.

"And remember, this is just a scouting trip. So don't go poking the bee's nest, okay? Try and keep your head down and avoid being seen as much as possible." 

"Okay. I'll be careful."

"Good. Now, you ready to roll, Joker?" 

"Let's move." 

Joker climbed up on top of the rail which separated him from falling into the deep abyss. Joker had never thought if Shadows could appear under water. He wasn't planning on finding out today. His muscles tensed up, and he pushed himself off of the rail with one foot, launching him forwards. He flew forwards, his black coat waving in the wind. 

He landed on the wooden dock feet-first, but he allowed his momentum to take him forwards into a roll until he was back on his feet again. He stood up straight and looked around. There weren't any lights at this part of the dock, but he was able to see well enough in the dark to see if there were any large obstacles to work around. He walked down the dock until it turned to face the rest of the harbor. 

"Oracle, have you found anything I should be aware of?"

"Hold on... Nope, nothing yet. Just keep moving, and keep your eyes out for Shadows. I'll do my best to help with that." 

Akira moved down the dock, jogging at a medium pace and staying in the darkness. The further he got, the more details he could make out deeper into the harbor. He noticed that many of the freight ships had large cranes around them, moving shipping containers on and off the decks of the ships. 

"Oracle, make a note of those cranes. They might be useful."

"You got it, Joker!" 

He kept moving until he reached his first metal freight container. He hid behind it and peered around to see what was ahead. 

"You see that?" Joker asked his disembodied navigator.

"Yup. Shadow. It seems pretty weak. Think you can handle it?"

"In my sleep," he chided, popping his neck and cracking his knuckles. 

"Let's see you put your money where your mouth is, hot stuff."

With that, Joker stepped out from behind the box and dashed towards the Shadow. He was close enough to it that he was now able to make out what it was. It was a humanoid Shadow with a camo cap and glasses just slightly covering it's black face and glowing blue eyes. 

"Hey, what are you-!" Before the Shadow could finish the thought, Akira had already jumped on the Shadow's back, pulling its hat and glasses off and tossing them aside. Akira quickly jumped off and pushed his coat back, pulling his foot-long silver dagger out from its sheath at his back. 

Akira watched as the Shadow split into several black globs which spread everywhere, flying wildly until they reformed into the shape of a person. When the black material faded away, Akira was taken aback by what he saw. The Shadow was a naked feminine humanoid with white skin and long silver hair covering her breasts, and her legs, which were in a crossed sitting position, as well as her lower arms were completely encased in ice.

"Akir- I mean, Joker, I've, um... I've never seen a Shadow like that before... Be careful! We have no idea what it'll throw at us!" 

Joker nodded, his eyes becoming cold and calculative as he analyzed the Shadow. Blue. Ice. 

"Surt!" Joker shouted, and blue flames erupted behind him and took the form of a large man with black skin covered in red lines on his name holding a blazing longsword. 

"Agidyne!" Joker jumped out of the way of his Persona as it swung it's sword from the sky and striking the ground, causing a row of flames to erupt in a straight line right towards the enemy Shadow, causing it to cry out and slump over. 

"Good work, Joker! Now we know it's weak to fire, I'll make note of that," Oracle said happily.

Joker rushed in and slashed at the monster with his blade several times, causing it to cry out and recoil with every strike. 

When the Shadow shook itself awake, Akira jumped back, but not quickly enough. The Shadow broke one of it's frozen arms free and pointed its hand out towards Joker, and several spears of ice formed in the air around it. The Phantom Thief tried to dodge, but he was still recovering and wasn't able to dodge the spear which struck him right in the chest, knocking him backward and leaving him vulnerable. 

"Get up, Joker!" 

The voice snapped him out of a temporary daze where he realized he was now looking up at the sky. He tilted his head down and looking at his opponent just in time to see even more ice spears flying in his direction.

He quickly moved his hand to his mask and closed his eyes, before calling out, "Lillith!" This time, a tall woman with pale skin and black hair with a massive snake coiled around its entire body appeared before Joker. When the ice spears got too close, they suddenly stopped in mid-air, turned around, and were launched back in the direction of the Shadow which struck her and shattered until all the spears were gone.  It didn't look like it did much, but it still seemed to hurt it a little.

"Time to finish this!" Joker said, smoothly jumping to his feet and touched his mask again, Surt, the black-skinned Persona, appeared once more. "Inferno!" 

Surt raised his sword once but, but this time stabbed it deep between the planks of the dock, and the whole thing began to shake as light appeared beneath the ice-encased Shadow. After a moment, a light show of reds, yellows, and oranges exploded underneath the Shadow, enveloping it in scrorching heat and flame. 

When the light finally faded, Joker looked up and the Shadow was gone, evaporated, with no evidence of the fight having ever taken place despite the destructive attacks exchanged. 

Oracle's voice soothed Joker as he tapped into the power of one of his Personas to heal his wounds. 

"Okay, so, we're dealing with Shadows that we've never seen before. That's...scary. But kinda exciting too! I get to help you solve new challenges, and I get to watch you fight some more! Just don't get killed, okay? I'd never forgive you if you died."

Joker chuckled. "You got it, Oracle. I'll change my plans and come out of this alive," he teased. 

"You're such a smartass," she mumbled. "Come on, let's keep moving. While you were fighting, I was looking into something that you might wanna check out."

Joker nodded. "Where too, O' Wise Oracle?"

Oracle rolled her eyes, which Joker could somehow sense even without being able to see Prometheus. "There's a crane further down the dock. Use it to get on top of the nearest freight ship." 

Without question, Joker moved down the dock, slipping in and out of cover behind several freight crates, back to avoiding the lights. He slipped past a few Shadows and eventually made his way to a tall white crane which was immobile. 

"Hop into that freight crate. I'll give you a lift," Oracle said.

Joker turned around and faced the red cargo crate and found the door, bending down and lifting it open. It was, thankfully, completely empty, so he stepped inside it and closed the door behind him.

"You sure you know what you're doi- woah!" 

Before he could finish the thought, the crate started moving and raised off the ground, causing Joker to fall to the floor. With nothing to hold on to, Joker's only option was to tumble around the crate until eventually, with a loud  **BANG** , it stopped moving.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Oracle asked. "Was that  _doubt_ I heard?" 

"You win," Joker groaned, pushing himself to his feet.

"Hehe," was all that came back.

Joker crawled out of the crate and looked around. He was now on the deck of a freight ship, which really didn't look much different from the dock: a bunch of metal shipping crates scattered around and a Shadow patroling here and there.

"Okay, now, there's a tower of shipping crates near you. Think you can climb to the top?"

Joker looked around until his eyes settled on the crates which were almost stacked up like a pyramid. "Easy," he responded confidently.

He slipped through the maze of crates until he reached the base of the tower where he climbed up onto the first box, repeating the process until he finally made his way to the top.

"Okay, Oracle. What is it that you want me to see?"

"Turn around."

Joker did as he was told, and his jaw nearly dropped open by what he saw. At the very edge of the harbor, far off from shore, was a fishing boat. Except, it wasn't like any fishing boat Akira had ever seen. It was a fishing boat which dwarfed any of the freight ships around the dock. 

"I think we found where the treasure is..." Oracle said, trying to process what she was looking at. "Why would your dad even want a fishing boat that big?" 

"That ship is The SS Susano. It wasn't built to catch fish," Joker whispered. "It was built to catch gods."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo boy. This chapter was a bit more of a challenge than the previous two. For starters, I finally had to implement my idea of a seaport being a Palace, as well as tackling combat for the first time. Honestly, I'm still unsure how that fight scene went. I don't think it was too bad but I'm a little worried that it went on for a bit too long or maybe was a bit too light on the details. I dunno. Please let me know what you thought in the comments! I know I say that at the end of every chapter, but it's extra important for this one. 
> 
> Anyway, the next chapter will be ready soon! I'm going to try and work on setting up a schedule so that I don't overload myself and you guys with the story. Maybe posting a new chapter 2-3 times a week? I think that seems fair given how fast I've managed to put out these chapters so far. Still not sure how long it's gonna be, but I know that things are starting to get spicy! So I hope you stick around to see what happens next on Joker and Oracle's quest!


	4. The God of the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joker and Oracle are making their way towards the SS Susano, and Joker admits that he's nervous about the very real possibility of running into the Shadow of his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get a lil bit spicy this chapter. At least everyone keeps their clothes on though! (I think. I'm writing this note while in the middle of writing the chapter. Oh well!)

"Are you sure you can get this thing running?" Oracle asked, watching Joker sit at the captain's seat of a small commercial boat, the kind you would see people taking out on lakes or oceans for fun. Oracle was sitting in a bench seat towards the front of the ship so she couldn't see exactly what Joker was doing, but she saw him move his arm in a way that would imply that he just pulled some kind of lever.

Joker looked up at Oracle with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry, is that  _doubt_ I hear?" 

Oracle could  _feel_ the mockery in his tone. "Alright, big boy. You seem pretty confident about this, even though you don't have a key to start the boat, and I highly doubt you know how to hotwire, much less hotwire a boat. So I tell you what, you get this boat started, and I'll give you something special when we get back to the hotel." 

Joker smirked slyly at her. "You're on, Navigator. Hope you've got something  _real_ special planned for me. I'll have this boat moving before you can say, 'Your dexterity has leveled up'." 

Oracle rolled her eyes. "Alright, then. Your dexterity has-"

_VrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrOOOOOOOOM._

Joker hadn't even taken his eyes off of Oracle. He just smiled and gave her a snarky grin. Oracle blinked at him in amazement. 

"...How did you...?" 

"The key was already in the ignition."

Oracle blinked at him again and hung her head in defeat. 

"I've bamboozled myself..." She muttered. 

Joker laughed out loud as he got up from the chair and moved over to the side of the boat to undo the rope which was keeping them attached to the dock. 

"Don't think I forgot my reward," Joker said, glancing back at her for a moment while he untied the rope. 

"Oh, don't worry. You'll get your reward," Oracle responded in a way which gave Joker goosebumps, causing him to bite his lower lip. He turned back to look at her again and she was lying stretched across the bench, giving him a "look". 

Joker had to resist the urge to get up and walk over to Oracle and... No, Joker! No time!

Joker looked back and the rope and took a deep breath, pulling himself together. 

"Save my reward for the hotel. I won't have to worry about noise there."

Joker's response was like a knockout punch to Oracle. She loved teasing him when things were peaceful, but even she couldn't come back from a response like that. She shifted her sexy, reclined pose to a more relaxed position, and smiled as she watched her boyfriend work. 

Joker pulled the rope inside the boat and returned to the captain's seat. "Ready to set sail?" 

"Aye aye, cap'n!" Oracle responded excitedly. 

Joker shifted the boat's throttle and the boat lurched forward while he turned it and guided it out of the dock and onto open water, aiming towards the colossal fishing vessel which towered over them even from such a far distance. 

"Hey, Joker?" Oracle asked, getting up from her chair to walk over to Joker, standing next to him and looking up at the boat.

"What's up, Oracle?" Joker was slightly concerned. The tone of her voice was quieter, almost a bit fearful.

"Um...It's just...Have you considered the fact that we might run into your father's Shadow while we're here?"

Joker was quiet for a moment, listening to the purr of the boat as it moved through the dark water. He  _had_ thought about it. Quite a lot actually. And it made him nervous. 

"Yeah. I have," Joker responded. 

"Will you be okay if we do see him?" 

"I..." 

Before he could finish his thought, Oracle was on her knees next to Joker, looking him in the eyes. She put her hand over the hand which was not steering the ship and resting on Joker's knee. 

"If it does happen, just know that I'll be with you the whole time. Okay?" 

Joker looked at her, a somber look on his face. He flipped his hand over and wrapped his fingers around Oracle's hand. 

"I know you will be. You're always with me. You're my Oracle." 

Oracle smiled sweetly at him and stood up, kissing Joker on the cheek. 

"We're in this together, Leader." 

Joker nodded and gave his trademark Joker Smile™. 

* * *

After what felt like hours, the tiny fishing boat pulled up next to the Susano. Joker throttled down the engine, reducing the noise, before looking over at Oracle. 

"Can you find us a way inside?" 

Oracle pulled her goggles down and went quiet for a few moments, scanning the hull of the Susano to find a nearby entrance. 

"It looks like we're near the engine room... Er, well, one of them anyway," she said somewhat absent-minded as she continued to look. "It looks like the very outer hull is somewhat thin. We might be able to break in that way, but it's risky. Alternatively, we could try and slip into the holding bay which has an opening to load and unload small boats, probably a place to hold and engage lifeboats?" 

"I say we try and go in through the holding bay. If we sink this ship, we may never get the treasure."

Oracle nodded. "Agreed. The loading zone is just a bit further ahead. It'll be closed up, but there should be a way to crack the door open enough for us to slip through."

With that, Joker got the boat moving again. He moved forward until they found what looked like an over-sized garage door. 

"This is it," Oracle said, still wearing her goggles. She pushed them up and looked over at Joker. "The door is electrically powered, so we won't be able to just pick the lock. If we can cause an electrical disturbance, the door  _should_ malfunction and open up for a few seconds. 

"You can't just hack into it?" Joker asked, slightly surprised. 

"I didn't bring my laptop. I didn't want to risk it getting wet."

Joker nodded. It made sense, even if it made things more complicated. 

"Do you have a Persona with you with a weak electrical attack? That should work."

Joker touched the side of his masked and closed his eyes. When he did so, he suddenly found himself surrounded by only darkness and a few pillars of blue flame in a circle around him. He looked at one of the pillars and the flame briefly took on the form of his Persona Surt. Then he looked at another pillar and saw Lillith. Surt was fire, and Lillith was ice. Neither would do in this case. He kept examining the next pillar and saw the black dragon creature Seth. Finally, he looked at the fourth pillar and saw a Persona which might just be able to do the trick.

After a moment, Joker's eyes snapped open and the word, "Persona!" flowed from his lips. Blue flames erupted behind him and when they disappeared, a purple humanoid figure wearing a golden helmet and a white toga hovered in the ear, a golden spear in his right hand. 

Odin drifted over to the door and looked at it with a slight annoyance. A Persona of Odin's caliber could easily blast the door open with his bare hands, but his connection with Joker made it clear that he was not to destroy the door. Rather, he gently tapped the tip of the spear to the metal door, causing a sizable spark and the sounds of electrical equipment overloading coming from inside. 

After a moment, the door simply rose up, revealing a large, dark room. Too dark to see from here. 

Joker waved a hand and Odin disappeared in a flash of blue fire, and he stepped up onto the side of the boat and jumped over the small gap and landed on the ledge into the hanger. He turned back to look at Oracle, whom he assumed would be entering Prometheus by now. But she wasn't. She was following his lead, stepping up on the side of their boat. 

"You're not taking Prometheus?" Joker asked quizzically.

"Um, actually... If you don't mind, I want to go on foot with you!" 

Joker was taken aback by her passion. She always felt safe inside of Prometheus, so she only ever got out of it when they were in a safe area. 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" 

Oracle nodded, her eyes burning with determination. "I want to be by your side in case something happens. I know I can't help fight, but I can still provide you with some support. I just...want to be with you, and make sure you're okay."

Joker smiled, nodded, and reached out his hand. "Let's get going, then." 

Oracle smiled, and then looked down at the dark gap between her and her lover.  It was...wider than she initially thought. But she knew she had to be brave. For herself, and for Joker. 

She looked up at Joker, took a half step back, and charged forwards, leaping off the side of the small boat. At that moment, Oracle swore that time slowed down as her feet just barely missed the edge of the hanger, and she began to drop towards the abyss. But before her feet could ever touch water, she suddenly stopped and felt a tight grip around her hand.

It was Joker. His quick thinking allowed him to catch her, and he easily managed to pull her up and inside the hanger. Oracle managed to get a glimpse of his eyes while he pulled her up, and they were surprisingly wild and intense as if they were about to burst into flames. 

Oracle sat on her knees and looked down at her hands which were pressed against the floor. Joker took a tentative step towards her, reaching out a hand to comfort her. He just knew that she was on the verge of a breakdown, likely a full-blown panic attack.

...Or so he thought.

Oracle looked up at Joker, her eyes intense. Her breathing was deep, but it was stable. She pushed herself to her feet and gave Joker a quick hug. 

"Thanks for the save, Joker. But we have to move." 

Joker was taken aback. He had never seen Oracle recover so quickly like that. 

Then a familiar, comforting voice in the back of Joker's head spoke, saying, "She's come so far, hasn't she? You've helped rebuild a strong, beautiful young woman. You should be proud, Joker." 

'Thanks, Arsene,' He thought to himself. 

"Joker? Are you still with me?" Joker snapped back into reality, seeing Oracle looking up at him. 

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. I just got lost in thought." 

"It's fine. But, really, we should get moving, don't you think?"

Joker nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

It took what felt like hours for the pair to reach the deck of the ship. The boat was so large that it felt more like a fortress than any ship. They passed by several rooms of the ship which were about the size of a small house. This included an engine room, mess hall, and crew's quarters all of which were absolutely swarming with Shadows. This forced Joker and Oracle to sneak past these rooms. If they would've tried to go through them, they would've been killed for sure. 

That's not to say they didn't encounter combat, however. Several times, Joker was forced into combat with Shadows which blocked their path, all of whom neither Joker nor Oracle recognized. With some scanning, Oracle  _was_ able to pinpoint their names, however. The frozen woman they had faced off with at the dock was named Hel, and the fire genie they had fought on their way up the stairs was called Ifrit. Oracle theorized that these Shadows were all so different to the ones they'd seen so far was because they were in a different part of Japan, and therefore the people and their cognitions were different as well. 

However, despite their troubles, they did eventually reach the deck of the ship. It was large enough that it mad some neighborhoods look small, but it was mostly empty between what looked like the captain's quarters at the stern of the ship and the bow. Oracle and Joker were extremely exposed here, but it didn't look like there were any Shadows patrolling the hull. 

With only one option, the two moved towards the captain's quarters. 

Eventually, they reached a fairly large metal door. Oracle suspected that it might be locked and that they should look for another way in, but Joker wasn't up for giving up so easily. He bent down in front of the door and examined the opening mechanism. He activated his Third Eye, the door glowing a faint blue. He looked at the wall around the door and saw a suspicious handprint on a seemingly random part of the wall nearby. In fact, it was several handprints stacked on top of each other. 

"There's an invisible handprint scanner on the wall here. This might be tricky."

"Handprint scanner..." Oracle muttered to herself. "Do you think it might open for you?"

"Huh? Why would it?" Joker asked, confused.

"Well, um...you're his son, after all. And you once said that your father always wanted you to work for his business. So maybe..."

Joker thought about it and then walked over to the invisible hand scanner. He placed his open palm against it and listened as he heard a slight mechanical hum behind the wall.

_Clunk. Fwoooooo._

Joker looked over and saw the door slowly swinging open. He couldn't even really believe it. He wanted to believe that it was just a fluke. Maybe the door just needed  _any_ handprint.

His fear was confirmed when Oracle appeared next to him, took his hand, and looked at him with concern in her eyes. "Are you okay, Joker?" 

Joker, for the first time in his life, couldn't bring himself to answer her. "Let's just go," he whispered quietly. "I'm ready to get out of here."

Oracle nodded and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. "Okay. Just remember, I'll be right there with you." 

Joker nodded, took a deep breath, and then walked through the door. 

Joker definitely wasn't expecting the heart of his father's palace to resemble a nightmarish church. 

Joker and Oracle were standing at the bottom of a huge staircase which lead up, and the walls were lined with statues of alien-like creatures wielding what looked like spears. 

"What the hell..." Joker whispered, trying to wrap his head around what he was looking at.

"Let's focus on finding the treasure," Oracle said, moving forward and starting to climb the stairs. Joker followed her, still examining the architecture around him. 

When they finally reached the top of the stairs, Joker and Oracle both felt an intense sense of dread wash over the both of them as they entered what looked like the main cathedral, but rather than altar in the middle of the room, there was a throne. And sitting on that throne was a tall, muscular man with frizzy black hair and grey eyes. His facial features were sharp, and his skin was surprisingly dark for a Japanese man. Even Oracle knew exactly who the man was when she laid eyes on him. He looked just like an older version of the man she loved, after all.

* * *

 

"Hm?" The Shadow of Touma Kurusu looked up from his throne and looked at the two teens who had walked into his chamber. His golden eyes were cold, yet uncaring. He could turn these two whelps into chum if he wanted to. "Who are you? How did you get into my chamber?" His voice was deep and bellowing, sounding as though we were standing in a cave. 

The taller of the two, a young man with black hair, a long coat, and a white mask, stepped forwards. His hands were balled into fists. 

Shadow Touma suddenly sat up, and his eyes widened a bit. "Hold on, I know you. You're the Phantom Thieves I keep hearing so much about, no? Why have you approached me in _my_ chamber?" 

The shorter of the two, a young woman wearing a black and green spandex suit and goggles which sembled the eyes of a frog stepped up next to the man. "We're here to steal your heart!" 

Touma tilted his head. "Me? What have I done to deserve my heart to be stolen?" 

The boy's eyes flared and he took an aggressive step forward, and the young woman grabbed his hand and held him back. Touma figured they must be a couple. 

"You hit my-!" The boy shouted at him, but the girl pulled his arm back and stepped between Touma and the boy. 

"Measely worm. How dare you raise a hand at me in  _my_ house." Touma put his hands on his knees and pushed himself to his feet. A black aura began to form around him and he felt power beginning to surge through his body. His eyebrows furrowed together and he glared at the two, murder in his eyes. "Fine, you wish to try and steal my treasure? Go right ahead."

Touma stepped away from his throne and it, along with the wall behind it, disappeared into the floor, being lowered by a mechanical elevator. Behind the back wall was an altar which was coated in gold and had carvings of strange alien fish-like creatures on it. Above the altar hovered a strange, cloudy blob which hovered in the air. 

"However...," Touma said, cracking his knuckles and taking a step towards the pair, "You'll have to get through me." The black aura around him began to surge and swirl around him like a thunderstorm cloud, and he raised a hand and pointed a single finger at them.

There was a crackling sound in the air just before a loud  **BOOM** filled the church, and a bolt of lightning erupted from his finger and flew towards the thieves.

The boy stepped forward, putting the girl between Touma and the girl. It struck him in the chest, an explosive light followed by smoke surrounding him. Touma expected to see a pile of ash when the smoke cleared, yet the boy still stood there, completely unaffected even down to his clothes. The only change was the ring of blue fire which surrounded his feet. 

"Joker! Let's go!" 

The boy whom the girl referred to as 'Joker' turned, looked at the girl, and nodded. The girl took off down the stairs, the boy following him. 

"That's right, cowardly thieves! Run from the God of the Seas!" Touma let out a hearty laugh as he fired several more explosive blasts of lightning in their general direction, striking the walls. 

He took a deep, satisfied breath as he allowed his throne to rise back up from the floor and sat back down it, feeling satisfied with the exchange. And yet, something in the back of his mind made him feel uneasy.

What prompted the thieves to run if they intended to steal the treasure?

And why did that young man look so...familiar to him?  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tension increases! I'm super pumped to write the next chapter because it's going to allow me to do something which I think Persona 5 could have theoretically done a little better. But, you'll have to wait until next time to find out just what that thing is! 
> 
> Sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I've been busy with some other projects, I've been dealing with bad family stuff, and this chapter took longer to write than the rest so far. I think that's partially because it was a bit longer than the rest, and I had a lot more to get through. I'm gonna try my very best and not take as long with the rest of the chapters, but I make no promises. 
> 
> As always, please leave me a kudos if you liked what you read, leave a comment if you have any comments or critiques, and subscribe to my page so you can stay up to date on this story and my upcoming project, including an entirely new Persona 5 story featuring all of the Phantom Thieves, and a series of one-shots based on the shenanigans of the Phantom Thieves!


	5. The Tears of an Oracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Futaba finally make their way back to the hotel, with all the information required to plan the heist of Touma Kurusu's treasure. Meanwhile, the rest of the Phantom Thieves get an expected summons...

"Our best course of action would be to start here," the redhead said, placing her finger on the part of the map which was labeled, 'Entrance', "and then making our way up and to the farthest side of the dock that we can get to." As she spoke, she trailed her finger on the path that she believed to be the most optimal.  

"Taking the boat would be too slow. We'd likely be spotted and attacked. I propose that you use a Persona to cross the water. Maybe you can use an ice Persona to freeze the water and walk across? Or even flying across, though that would be risky."

The frizzy-haired boy watched the girl's hands intensely, imagining the line form from the tip of her finger and onto the page. He pondered her suggestion, putting his chin in his hand. 

"It might be possible for me to fly across on the back of Kohryu..." 

Futaba nodded. "Kohryu is pretty quick, and he should have enough space for you to get a good grip." 

Settled on that decision, she returned to the map and pointed to the deck of the Susano. "Now, it would be dangerous and a waste of time to have you go through the entire boat again, so you'll want to land up on the deck of the ship. That said, security will be extremely tight when we get back. If possible, try and find a place where you can land which is ought of sight. If not, you'll have a fight on your hands." 

"Nothing I can't handle, worst comes to worst," Akira replied. That said, in the back of his mind, he wasn't sure about that. He wasn't used to not having the rest of the Thieves behind him, but he wanted to be confident. For both himself, and his lover. 

Futaba nodded slightly. She didn't believe him, not really. It wasn't that she didn't think her boyfriend was strong, but she  _knew_ this was unlike anything they'd ever faced before. She was worried that something would go wrong and Akira might...

Futaba's thought was cut off as Akira picked up where Futaba left off. "Once I get to the deck of the ship, I'll make my way to Touma's chamber. With any luck, he won't be there. All I'll have to do is figure out how to open the chamber, grab the treasure, and get moving." 

"And if he is?" The girl responded, trying to hide the concern in her voice.

"Then it's the same as all the other Shadows we've faced in the past. I'll take him on, beat him down, and then once he's docile, take the treasure and go." 

"Akira..." At this point, Futaba couldn't keep her concern down. "You're incredibly strong, but you've never taken on a major Shadow alone before. Are you sure you'll be able to take him?"

Akira didn't respond for awhile, his gaze moving away from Futaba. 

"I'm sorry, Akira," she whispered, suddenly feeling guilt well up in her stomach.

"No, it's okay," he responded, looking up and grabbing Futaba's hand. "I'm...scared too."

Futaba looked into Akira's eyes. She had been hiding her fears for hours, but she was growing tired, and she just felt an intense urge to let go and cry. 

Akira moved the map to a chair and sat next to Futaba, prompting her to immediately bury her face in his chest, tears soaking into the man's shirt. He wrapped his arms around Futaba and held her close, kissing the top of her head gently. 

"It's okay, Taba. Just let it out. I'll protect you." 

Futaba couldn't hold back anymore, and she sobbed into Akira as she clung to him like a security blanket. Akira placed a hand on the top of her head and stroked her hair. 

Akira could feel the warmth of Futaba's face on his chest through his shirt. He knew she must've been embarrassed.

"Taba, you've been so strong and brave all day. I am  _so_ unbelievably proud of you. You're becoming such a strong and wonderful young woman, and I'm so very lucky to have you as my partner, in life and in crime." 

As Akira spoke, Futaba's shaky breath came back to her as her sobs dissipated.

"Futaba?"

Futaba looked up from Akira's shirt, looking at his face. Her eyes were red and puffy, and tears still welled up in her eyes as she sniffled.

"I love you, I trust you." 

With that, Futaba's lips curled into a small smile. "I-I trust you too, Akira. And I love you. I love you so much." 

Akira took his hand and placed it on Futaba's cheek and smiled at her, prompting her to smile back. Akira leaned in and pressed his lips gently to hers, closing his eyes. He felt her press her lips back, and suddenly Akira felt like he existed outside of time where he could be with the love of his life forever. He felt the warmth of her lips, the softness of her face, the sweet scent of her hair... 

After what felt like an eternity, Akira fell back to reality and broke the kiss, his eyes fluttering open, seeing the lilac orbs which gazed back at him. 

"I'm gonna go take a shower. You should call Sojiro while I'm gone, don't you think? If you don't, you'll get disowned when we get back," Futaba said with a small giggle.

Akira nodded and smiled at her. "I will. Enjoy your shower sweetheart."

Futaba kissed him one last time before walking over to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. 

After she was gone, Akira pulled out his cellphone and dialed Sojiro's number. It rang for a few seconds before there was a moment of silence followed by a familiar voice.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sojiro. It's Akira." 

"Wow, you actually called. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little surprised!"  Sojiro chuckled to himself.

"I'd like to think I'm a man of my word."

"You'd better be. Calling me wasn't the only part of the agreement to let you and Futaba go off by yourself."

"Yup. I remember. As far as I know, she's not pregnant."

"You'd better be joking about the, 'As far as I know' part." 

Akira laughed and then responded, "Of course I'm joking, sir."

"Good. Hey, um, is everything going okay?" 

Akira opened his mouth to answer but hesitated for a moment. "Yeah. Everything's going okay." 

There was a pause before Sojiro responded. "And Futaba? Is she handling being away from home alright?"

"Futaba's doing really well. She's been really brave this entire trip. You should be proud of her. I know I am."

Even though he couldn't see it, Akira knew Sojiro smiled at that just from the inflection of his voice. "That's good to hear. Tell her I said hey, will you?"

"You got it, Boss." 

Akira heard the sound of the Leblanc door bell jingle before Sojiro said, "Hey, I gotta go. Make sure you call me tomorrow night, got it?" 

"Yessir."

"Good. Remember to be safe, Akira. You make sure your butt gets home."

"I'll be sure to make it home, that's a promise."

"Alright. Good. Talk to you later, Akira."

"See ya, Sojiro."

Akira watched as the phone went dark when Sojiro hung up, then blinked when he saw the time. It was 11 o'clock. That was weird. Leblanc should've been closed by now. But he didn't have much time to think about it as Futaba opened the bathroom door and walked out, wrapped in nothing but a white towel, her hair still wet. At that moment, something clicked in Akira's brain. Futaba didn't grab a change of clothes when she went to the bathroom earlier.

"You didn't think I forgot, did you, lover boy?" Futaba said, a small smirk on her face, and her cheeks a slight pink color. 

Akira's eyes slowly started to widen. "My reward?"

Futaba took several steps forward towards Akira, her smirk turning into a sly grin. "Yep. That's right."

Akira looked up at her. He was sitting on the foot of the bed, and Futaba was just a foot away from him. He was actually caught quite off guard from the interaction. He figured she was just teasing him back on the boat, but...

"Wanna know what your prize is?" 

Akira bit his bottom lip before asking, "What is it?"

Futaba gestured for Akira to lean forwards, and he did. She leaned forwards as well and put her lips right next to his ear. 

"Me."

The next thing Akira heard was the sound of a towel hitting the floor. 

* * *

 

"Good. Remember to be safe, Akira. You make sure your butt gets home."

"I'll be sure to make it home, that's a promise."

"Alright. Good. Talk to you later, Akira."

"See ya, Sojiro."

Sojiro put his phone down on the counter and sighed before a familiar, excitable voice rang in the older man's ears. "Yo, Boss. You rang?"

He looked up and saw a group of five oh so familiar teenagers and their cat walking through the door of Leblanc, all looking a bit surprised to be here but confident as always.

"Come on in, kids. I, uh, need to talk to you about something. Actually, I've got a job for you. Come on in. I'll make you all some curry and coffee." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry this chapter took so long to come out! I had some writer's block when it came to this chapter, due to its nature of acting as an interlude between two big portions of the story, a cooldown as it were. But it's here! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but I'm even more excited for the next chapter! So I really hope you stayed tuned to see it! I promise I'll work really hard to make sure it comes out sooner than the last chapter. 
> 
> As always, leave me a kudos if you enjoyed this chapter, leave me a comment telling me your thoughts regardless if they're good, bad, or somewhere in between, and if you REALLY liked it, feel free to subscribe so you can stay up to date on this story as well as my other projects! 
> 
> Finally, since she insists on slamming her paws and body all over my keyboard, I feel compelled to let you all know that my cat Nora says hello.


	6. The Shadow Over The Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day has finally arrived. Akira and Futaba's plan is set to infiltrate Touma's Palace and steal his treasure. However, not everything can go smoothly for a thief when something is lurking in these dark waters...

"TOUMA KURUSU, THE OBSESSIVE, SELF-PROCLAIMED 'GOD OF THE SEA'. WE HAVE SEEN WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO RISE TO THE TOP OF YOUR BUSINESS. YOU HAVE ABUSED YOUR EMPLOYEES AND RUINED YOUR FAMILY ALL IN THE NAME OF ATTEMPTING TO OVERTHROW YOUR SUPERIORS. BECAUSE OF YOUR DESPICABLE BEHAVIOR, WE HAVE DECIDED TO OVERTHROW  _YOU_ AND STEAL YOUR HEART SO YOU WILL BRING LIGHT TO YOUR CRIMES WITH YOUR OWN MOUTH. WE HOPE YOU ARE READY. BECAUSE THE PHANTOM THIEVES ARE COMING FOR YOU."

Touma listened with wide eyes to the radio which sat at his desk. The strange distorted voice which played... He couldn't quite place it, but it felt familiar to him. That made him even more afraid as he digested the words. The Phantom Thieves had been popping up on the news recently, but they were all the way in Tokyo. Why would they come all the way here? Did someone leak his information? Had one of the employees he had gotten fired finally manned up and went to the Phantom Thieves to seek action? Was it his very own wife, whom he had...recently had some issues with, gone to the Phantom Thieves?

He got up from his desk and began to pace nervously. One of his coworkers, who had been listening to the radio as well, looked nervous.

"Kurusu, what are they talking about? Despicable behavior? Abusing your family and employees? What's going on?"

"Nothing, Nobusawa. Nothing is going on. I'm sure this is some prank..."

"You think some random kids hacked the  _radio waves_ just for a prank?"

Touma slammed his hand down on a table, shaking the entire thing. "What else could it be?!"

The worker looked at Touma in fear, slowly getting out of his chair and stepping towards the door.

"Well, Kurusu, I hope it's not true."

Before Touma could stop him, the co-worker had run out of the room. Touma sat in his chair and put his head in his hands. Suddenly, everything was falling apart. Everything had been going just fine. Why did this have to happen to him...?

* * *

 

"The Phantom Thieves wish to come after my treasure after all, hm?" The Shadow of Touma Kurusu said, taking over the position of Kurusu's real self. 

"Then let them come. I do hope they know what they are getting themselves into..."

* * *

 

The wind ripped through Joker's hair as he soared over the dark water and towards the SS Susano, the tendrils extending from the silver dragon Kohryo's head whipping around as Joker held on for dear life. 

He watched as the massive ship off in the distance grew even larger as he got closer. The closer he got, the more nervous he felt. But he had to hold himself together. This mission was far too important to get cold feet over. He  _had_ to do this.

"You okay, Joker?"

The voice brought Joker out of his thoughts and his anxieties alleviated slightly, even if the voice was basically in his head.

"Yeah, I'm okay. How about you, Oracle?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. But I'll be okay. I know you can handle this."

"Yeah. Don't worry about me."

"You know I can't not worry."

Joker cracked a small smile.

"Yeah, I know. And that's what makes you a great navigator. And a great girlfriend."

He couldn't see it, but he knew that made Oracle smile as well.

"Hey, Joker, um... There's something really odd about the Palace."

"What's that?"

Oracle didn't need to say it, as Joker was not in range to where he could see the deck of the ship. He was expecting it to be crawling with security, but... 

"There are no guards. No security. No traps. Nobody's here. The place is empty. I'm only picking up one signal, and it's coming from the throne room, so it has to be your father."

This made Joker uneasy. There were even fewer guards here than on the first night. That was  _extremely_ unusual. 

"He's gotten cocky," Joker said. 

"Yeah. You're probably right." Despite their words, neither of them believed it. They both believed that something very bad was about to happen.

And they were right.

Finally, Joker reached the hull of the ship. He climbed off the back of Kohryo, who faded away, returning to Joker's mask. Joker looked out at the water and saw the colorful lines of Prometheus who was watching him from a safe distance. Oracle had wanted to go on foot again like yesterday, but Joker denied her. She didn't know how to fight, and he didn't want to put her in direct danger again.

"I'm watching your back. You know that, right? I'm going to do everything I can to help."

"I know, Oracle."

"Be careful."

"I will."

With that, Joker turned around and dashed towards the throne room. 

He reached the door and activated his sixth sense to find the secret panel which opened the door, just like before. To his surprise and frustration, the door wouldn't budge.

"Any ideas?" He asked his distant navigator.

"Hmmm.. If you can't push it, pull it. If you can't pull it, megidolaon!"

"Works for me."

Joker stepped back and stared down the door. He put one hand on his mask and felt a large, powerful presence before him. 

"Beelzebub!" He called out, and a giant purple fly with a golden head and massive red eyes appeared between him and the door.

"Blast apart that door," Joker said to the fly demon, who was awaiting orders. With those words, Beelzebub raised up his skeletal staff and slammed it down onto the ground like a club. The air around them began to hum with energy, and a bright white sphere appeared over Beelzebub's head. The sphere began to grow larger and larger it was as large as Beelzebub. Then the demon raised it's staff once more and the sphere launched forwards, filling the air with a deafening BOOM and a blinding light. 

When Joker finally was able to gather his senses, Beelzebub was gone. Along with the door. And the whole wall. 

"Maybe megidolaon was a little overkill," Joker mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Yeah. On the bright side, at least nobody's here!"

Joker nodded and then stepped into the gothic chapel which was his father's throne room. He took a moment to examine the statues. Their body shape was strangely apelike, but they had fishlike heads. By the looks of it, if these creatures were real, it looked like they might be able to run using either just their back legs or both their front arms and back legs. The spears which they held in their hands looked just like normal fishing spears. Joker seriously wondered what these creatures were and why his father had statues of them in his throne room.

"I'm sorry, Joker. I don't want to rush you, but who knows what will happen if we're here too long?"

Joker knew she was right. He took a deep breath and turned back towards the stairs, and started to climb. 

* * *

 

Finally, Joker reached the throne room once again. His father sat in his throne, just like before, looking even more menacing. 

"So, you have returned to my domain. Where is your lady friend? Did she realize how  _weak_ you are and leave you?"

Joker felt the urge to put his fist through his father's smug face, but he managed to resist.

"No. I simply didn't want her to witness a royal assassination," he fired back.

"I see," Touma said, unflinching. "So you're the one who sent the calling card to my place of business?"

"That's right," Joker responded. "I've done my research. I know that you've been abusing your family and co-workers. I know you've been using other people as stepping stones to climb to the top. I know that you're trying to take over a business that doesn't belong to you. I'm here to tell you that that ends now. I'm going to stop you."

Touma was quiet for a second and then erupted into laughter. 

"Hah! While it's true that I've been using and abusing my way to the top, you're too young and foolish to understand that that is what one must do to survive! You'll never make it in this world if you don't learn that."

"You sit on a throne of lies, you scumbag!" Joker called out, starting to feel his temper slip. "You've  _ruined_ the lives of others to become the top of a company. Well, how do you plan on keeping your position now that your entire company knows what you've done?"

"I-!" Before he could finish the thought, the throne which Touma sat on faded into thin air, sending Touma tumbling to the floor.

"See? Even you understand that you're finished! Just give up and give us your treasure!" 

"Never," Touma responded, glaring at Joker with glowing golden eyes. He stood up and the black aura which surrounded him before returned, swirling around and crackling with lightning. He reached out his hand and a golden trident appeared in his hand, accompanied by the sound of thunder. He used the trident as a walking stick and pushed himself to his feet. "I'll die before I just give you my treasure!"

Touma pointed his trident at Joker and released a vicious bolt of lightning which exploded violently as it struck Joker. Having predicted this, Joker had summoned Odin who floated in the air behind him. The bolt of lightning had simply been absorbed by Joker, leaving him completely unscratched.

"As I thought, you are able to absorb my lightning attacks..." Touma said slowly, eyeing him. "How well do you fare against flames?!"

Before Joker could react, Touma lowered his trident and a wave of flames erupted from the trident and blasted Joker in the chest, sending him flying. He crashed to the ground, clutching his chest. He had been hit with fire before, but that was something else. Touma was  _strong_. 

"Writhe in pain, whelp!" Touma said, followed by booming laughter. 

With deep breathing, Joker pushed himself to his feet. "I'm just getting started..." 

Joker pulled out his black and silver blade and took a wild and swift dash towards Touma, slashing at his chest, and then jumping back. Touma looked down at his chest and saw a thin red line extending from his left shoulder to his right side. 

"Interesting. You are quite quick on your feet. Not quick enough, though."

Touma slammed the bottom of his staff on the floor, and the room was filled with a bright white light, and the following force was so strong that Joker was blasted out of the throne room through a wall.

When Joker finally managed to pull himself together, he was gazing up into the completely black sky. Well, it was almost completely black. Prometheus hung in the air above him, a claw extending down from the craft's open mouth. 

"Good catch, Oracle..." Joker groaned, rubbing his head. 

"Are you okay, Joker?"

Joker nodded, but he was weak. There was no way he'd be able to defeat Touma alone. Coming here without the Phantom Thieves was a huge mistake. 

Joker looked up at the throne room and saw that it had been destroyed, leaving Touma standing in the rubble with his treasure floating behind him. Joker was  _just_ able to make out that it was a fishing pole. A fishing pole which he recognized. 

"I grow tired of these games, Phantom Thieves!" Touma's voice boomed, echoing across the water. "If you want my treasure so badly, you'll have to take it from my cold, dead corpse!"  

"Put me down, Oracle. I have to finish this."

"But..."

Oracle tried to protest, but she couldn't find the words. So, she silently put her lover down and the mechanical arm retracted back into Prometheus's mouth. 

Joker rose to his feet and summoned Kohryo from his mask. He climbed on the dragon's back and took to the sky, shooting towards Touma like a rocket.

"Die, insect!" A massive stream of fire launched towards Joker and Kohryo, nearly consuming them both. The dragon ducked down and barely managed to avoid the flames. He picked up the speed and dashed towards the fishing pole as fast as possible, but before Kohryo could pick it up with his jaws, Touma grabbed it and threw it like a javelin. 

Kohryo eventually managed to turn himself around, and Joker noticed that the fishing pole was nowhere in sight.

"I got it!" 

Joker looked up and saw Prometheus, who had extended a claw down. In the claw was the fishing pole. 

"That's my girl!" Joker said triumphantly with a smile.

"No! That is not yours! Give it back!" Touma roared and pointed his trident at Prometheus, unleashing a massive lighting bolt which fired right towards Prometheus.

"Oracle, look out!"

The words had reached Oracle too late, and the lightning struck Prometheus, sending it spinning backward and crashing into the ship's hull. The fishing pole was launched out of Prometheus's claw, flying over the edge of the ship and plummeting towards the water.

"No! You stupid bitch! I'll have your head for that!" 

Touma jumped from his position and slammed down on the hull of the ship, but before he could take another step forwards, Joker jumped off the back of Kohryo, landing right behind Touma. He took his knife and wildly sent it into down the shadow's back, causing him to cry out and both pain and surprise.

"Agh! You damned children! You have  _no idea what you've gotten yourself into!"_

As he spoke, Touma's voice became echoey and distorted, and his glowing eyes became more intense. Moving faster than Joker could react, Touma had reached out and grabbed Joker by the neck and threw him across the ship, causing Joker to slam into the landed Prometheus with a metallic  ** _clang_**. 

Joker crumpled to the floor and laid there, feeling defeated. 

Suddenly, Oracle was standing above him, her mask up. "Joker! You have to get up!" 

Joker looked over and saw Touma standing at the edge of the ship, looking down at the water.

Joker's eyes widened as he saw Touma step forwards and disappear, dropping down towards the water.

Neither Joker nor Oracle spoke. Both were completely shocked by what had happened. 

After a few minutes, Joker silently managed to push himself to his feet. Oracle reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Be careful. Please."

All Joker could do was nod. Oracle leaned forwards and kissed him on the cheek before turning around and crawling back into Prometheus. Joker walked over to the edge of the ship and looked down at the water. There were no lights, no body, no nothing. The water was completely silent.

After a few minutes, Joker looked up and saw Prometheus fly over the water. "I'm scanning for lifeforms. I'll tell you if I find anything."

Joker nodded, but he still didn't speak. He was in shock. He was sure that his father's shadow was dead, which meant it was only a matter of time before his father died as well.

And yet, at the same time, something in the far back of Joker's mind wasn't sitting right.

"What the hell..." Joker heard Oracle say, somewhat quietly. 

"Oracle? What is it?"

"Joker, I'm getting some really extreme readings coming from the water- wait, what is it...?"

Joker's eyes got wide he witnessed a giant shadow rise up to the surface of the water. It was as big as the Susano, but was somehow completely silent, and hadn't moved the water at all.

"What the hell is that thing?" Joker asked quietly.

Oracle never got the chance to answer.

Joker's stomach sunk in terror as he watched the giant shadow rise out of the water, revealing a giant fish creature. It's massive jaws were wide open, and heading right towards Prometheus.

"FUTABA!" 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. I've been dealing with some really bad depression lately and it's had a severe effect on my drive to do much of anything. But I've made some life changes and I'm slowly managing to pull myself together. In celebration of that, I finally managed to finish chapter 5! And, of course, it's cliffhanger. I'm sorry! That's just how I like to write. It keeps people on their toes and coming back, and makes it easier for me to transition between chapters. 
> 
> Okay, that's enough of my yapping. As always, leave me a kudos if you enjoyed this chapter, leave me a comment telling me your thoughts regardless if they're good, bad, or somewhere in between, and if you REALLY liked it, feel free to subscribe so you can stay up to date on this story as well as my other projects!


	7. Of Phantoms and Hydras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as darkness is about to swallow Joker and Oracle whole, the Phantom Thieves arrive to save the day. But the fight is just beginning.

Futaba sat inside of Prometheus, looking at the screen in front of her. She watched as the massive creature jumped out of the water, slowly rising towards it, it's jaws more than large enough to swallow Prometheus whole.

This feeling, it reminded her of the days when she was trapped in her room, feeling like she was going to die in a cage. The irony was that her cage was also her freedom, Prometheus. She would die in a flying craft which could theoretically take her anywhere. She found it funny, in a really morbid way. 

She wasn't scared. She wasn't even upset. Things in her life had changed, but her relationship with death had not. But, there was something more important than her at this exact moment. She had someone else to take care of.

Futaba took a deep breath and pressed the button on her console which would open the communication channel with Akira. She sat there in silence for a few seconds, unsure of what to say.

She wanted her last words to Akira to be something he would never forget, something he could hold dear for the rest of his life.

"I love you, Akira Kurusu. Thank you. For everything."

With that, Futaba closed her eyes and awaited for her inevitable darkness.

* * *

"FUTABA!"

Helpless. That's all Joker could think as he watched the shadowy fish beast rise from the depths, about to swallow his best friend. The tears which welled up in the corners of his eyes burned like fire, and he gripped the metal rail so tight it felt like rail might snap. His breathing was slow and deep, but also irregular, as if he had forgotten how to breathe. In fact, his breathing was the only sound he could hear. It was as if he were suddenly in space. And in space, no one can hear you scream. In space, no one can hear you die. 

"I love you, Akira Kurusu. Thank you. For everything."

Oracle's words cut through the silent void like a knife which landed right Joker's ribcage. The tears fell, along with their owner, who found himself on his knees, his head in his hands. He felt as if his heart was being ripped out of his chest and his head throbbed painfully. 

In what felt like Joker's last waking moments, he could only process one final thought. 

He got the love of his life killed.

_Thump_. _**BOOOOOOOOOM** **!**_

The sound made Joker jump in surprise. That was definitely not the sound of Prometheus being swallowed whole. He looked up and saw a cloud of smoke billowing off of the side of the fish creature as it fell sideways back into the water.

Joker's eyes darted around, trying to find the source of the explosion. That's when he saw it: a speedboat flying through the water piloted by a blond-haired ruffian wearing a skull mask. Standing next to him was a girl wearing a dark purple hat with a black feather sticking out of the side. This girl was also holding a grenade launcher.

Of course, the rest of the Phantom Thieves were standing, watching as the fish fell back into the abyss. Joker could see Panther pump her fist into the air. 

"Hey, Leader. We heard you might need some backup," Skull's voice rang through Joker's ears. 

"Heh, you guys couldn't have had better timing."

"You know it! Now, come on down and let's blow this joint!"

Joker nodded and ran to the rail of the ship. Without missing a beat, he grabbed the rail and threw his legs over, plummeting down towards the speedboat. 

"I've got you!" Joker heard Fox call out. "Catch him Kamu Susano-o!"

Joker heard the sound of rushing wind, and suddenly no longer felt the sensation of falling. He looked up and saw the blue face, red eyes, mask, and glorious hair of Fox's Persona, Kamu Susano-o.

The Persona put Joker down, and he looked around at the other Phantom Thieves smiling at him, especially Skull.

"Oracle, are you with us?" Queen said, looking up at Prometheus. 

"Yeah. I'm here. What's the play?"

"We're getting out of here. Let's gun it!" Panther said, looking at Skull who nodded enthusiastically. 

"Try and keep up, Oracle!"

With that, Skull slammed the gearshift of the boat down and peeled out, moving away from the giant ship. Prometheus followed just above them.

"Guys, we've got company," Oracle said. Joker ran to the back of the boat and saw the massive fish following after them, it's massive head surfacing from the water.

"Skull, you keep moving. We'll hold this thing off," Joker said. "Oracle, you fly ahead. Stay out of this thing's range. For whatever reason, this thing seems to have a grudge against you."

"You got it," she responded, and Prometheus took off ahead of the boat.

Joker cracked his knuckles and turned to Noir. "Ready to light this thing up again?" 

Noir grinned, a slight hint of evil in her eyes. "I couldn't _be_ more ready, Joker." She loaded her grenade launcher and turned towards the fish creature.

"EAT THIS!" Noir shouted, firing a volley of grenades at the fish, several explosions covering its head.

"Quick, Fox, while it's recovering. Fire some ice shots at it."

"Of course," Fox said, getting on his feet. "Kamu Susano-o! Do it!" Susano-o appeared above Fox, and several icicle shards appeared around him. He let out a roar, and a blizzard of ice fired towards the fish, piercing its skin and smashing apart all over it. The fish, now realizing this approach wasn't working, disappeared beneath the waves once more. 

"Haha! That was amazing, team!" Queen said, smiling. Panther mimicked her smile, nodding and laughing. Skull gave a proud thumbs up, still looking forwards as he piloted the boat.

Joker sighed and sat down, finally getting a moment to relax. Then a thought occurred to Joker, so he looked up at Panther and asked, "Hey, how did you guys find us?"

Panther responded, "Well, Boss had a bad feeling that something was wrong. So he called us together and asked to come just in case something went wrong. We would've never found this place without Mona, though!"

Joker looked down at Mona, who was sitting next to Queen. He smirked proudly when Panther complimented him. "You didn't think I'd let you leave by yourself without knowing where you were going, did ya?"

Joker chuckled. "I guess not. Good job, Mona."

Mona smirked again, and then his face switched to one of concern. "So, what was that fish thing? It was absolutely huge."

"I think I might have an answer to that," Oracle's voice said. "That thing is Joker's father."

Joker's eyes got wide, and Panther cried out, "What?! How is that possible?"

"Well, here's the thing..."

* * *

"So, Joker's father jumped into the water, and that fish thing just appeared..." Queen said, thinking hard.

"I think it's official title is Father Hydra," Oracle interjected. "At least, that's the conclusion my computers are coming up with."

"And it seems to be going after Oracle after she knocked his treasure into the water," Fox followed up.

"I think he absorbed the treasure into himself, which deformed his shadow so badly that it became both extremely powerful but also completely mindless," Oracle said. 

"So, given that the palace is still standing, both Touma and his treasure are still alive," Joker concluded. "Which also means that Father Hydra will likely come back. Actually, it's probably still following us..."

Mona nodded understandingly. "We'll have to find a way to take it out if we want to get that treasure."

Joker nodded in response. 

"Land ho!" Skull said as the boat slowed to a stop at the dock. "I parked as close to the shore as I could so we wouldn't have to walk far. What now?"

"Mona?" Joker said, turning to look at the cat-like creature. Mona simply nodded in response, jumped out of the boat, and morphed into a small black van. 

"Oracle, can you stay in Prometheus? We might need your support on the go," Joker asked. 

"You got it, Leader," Oracle responded.

"Alright, everyone get in."

Joker stood by and let everyone else get into the van before him, keeping one eye on the water. His muscles were tense. 

"You think the creature will be able to chase us, even on land?" Fox asked, following Joker's gaze. 

"Yeah. Based on how high that thing was able to jump out of the water, I think there's more going on with it than it shows on the surface." 

Fox nodded. "Indeed. What is your plan if it does indeed chase us while we're riding Mona?"

"I've got something in mind. Hopefully, I won't have to use it, though."

"Agreed." With that, Fox got into the van, leaving only Joker standing and looking at the water.

"Joker, let's go!" Panther called out, and Joker turned around and got in the van, sitting next to Fox.

"Okay, Joker. Where to?" Skull, who was behind the wheel, asked. 

"We're going to my house- um, my parent's house." 

"I can guide him there," Oracle said, Prometheus appearing above Van-Mona. "Just follow me, Skull." 

"You got it!" Skull said, starting up the Mona-mobile. 

"You might wanna move quick," Ann said. "We've got company." 

Joker turned and looked out the back window and saw Father Hydra rising out of the water and into the air. It was at this point that Joker got his first clear look at the entire beast, and it sent shivers down Joker's back.

Father Hydra had a massive head, about the size of the house. It resembled an angler fish with the body of an eel. Its teeth were massive and looked sharp enough to cut through metal. Its eyes glowed blue and sparks of lightning flew out from them. The other source of lightning came from the three-pronged light which protruded from his head which bobbled up and down on the end of what appeared to be a tentacle-like protrusion coming from his forehead. Its body was black and slithered through the air like a snake, and sparks of lightning occasionally traveled along its body. Even scarier, near it's head were several tentacles which slithered and whipped around, reaching out towards Mona. Thankfully it was too far away at the moment, but Joker shuddered at the thought of what would happen to them if it got too close.

"Joker, now might be the time you initiate your plan," Fox said, looking at Joker with a hint of fear on his face.

"Alright. You guys provide me with as much support from in here as you can."

"Wait, what do you mean from in here?" Queen asked, concered. 

Without answering, Joker rolled down the window of the van and crawled out onto the roof. "Alright, Skull. Drive this thing as steady as you can."

"Are you frickin' crazy, dude?!" Skull called out.

"That's debatable," Joker responded, touching his mask and summoning Kohryo. 

"Joker, please be careful," Oracle said. 

"I will."

With that, Joker got to work. As Skull drove the car, Joker crouched down and held on to the handle which was used to pull the roof hatch open, using it as support. Father Hydra, now completely out of the water and flying through the air, took a dive at the car. Joker responded by having Kohryo fire a bolt of lightning which struck Hydra square in the forehead, sending it back a bit. 

"I think I can keep it off our back by shooting it when it gets close," Joker called out.

"We've got your back," Joker heard Mona say as his Persona Zorro appeared, firing a blast of wind at Hydra and then disappearing. "It's hard to aim from in here, so we'll be mostly shooting blind!"

"Every little bit helps," Joker concluded. 

Just then, one of Hydra's tentacles lashed out and shot right towards Joker. Before he could move to counter, a gunshot when off and the tentacle writhed and slithered back. Joker looked over the side of the van and saw Fox sitting in the window of the van, his gun in hand.

"I believe I can provide assistance from here as well, though Skull's driving might make it so I can only be out here so much..."

"Hey, I'm doin' my best in here!" Skull protested.

Joker nodded and smirked before turning his attention back to Hydra.

"Whatever you do, don't stop," Joker said, firing another bolt at Hydra.

"We're heading through the town now!" Skull called out, just as Joker noticed the dock setting disappear and he was surroudned by houses on both sides.

"Don't forget, this is the Metaverse. What happens to these buildings won't affect the real world." 

"Got it," Joker responded. Hydra, unable to follow close to the ground, now flew above the buildings, looking down at the van. Joker looked up and realized that the light on it's forehead was glowing brighter. "Hold on, everybody. It's about to shoot at us!"

Joker touched his mask and Kohryo disappeared, now replaced with Odin. "Odin, block it!" 

Odin flew up into the air between Hydra and the van and held up his golden spear like a lightning rod just as a massive bolt of lightning shot from Hydra's light and down towards the car. It made contact with Odin's spear and smoke pillowed everywhere, but no lightning hit the car.

"Shit, I can't see! Hold on, Joker!" Skull cried out, swerving a bit, almost sending Joker tumbling off of the roof. 

"We're almost there!" Oracle said. "Just a bit longer!"

"Joker! Look out!" Joker looked up just in time to see Hydra diving straight down towards the van. It was going too fast for Joker to hit it back. 

"Leave my friends alone you stupid fish!" To Joker's surprise, he watched as Prometheus spun in the air like a baseball and then launched itself at Hydra. Prometheus crashed into Hydra, hitting it square in the eye. It shifted direction, falling out of the sky and crashing into the buildings behind the group as Prometheus bounced back and returned to it's original flightpath. 

"Did Oracle just..." Panther asked in shock, unable to believe what she just saw.

"I think Oracle just earned herself a promotion," Mona said, too in disbelief.

Joker just smiled proudly. "That's my girl." He couldn't see it, but Joker knew that made Oracle smile.

"Okay, we're here!" Oracle said. The van screeched to a stop as Skull slammed on the breaks. Joker was prepared for this and braced himself. He was sent flying off the roof right towards the front door of the small, dark blue colored house. He landed in the front yard, rolling to prevent himself from breaking anything. 

"Keep that thing busy while I run inside!" Joker said, looking back at the rest of the thieves as they piled out of the van. 

"Leave it to us!" Skull said as he summoned his Persona, Seiten Taisei. The rest of the thieves nodded in response. 

Joker nodded back and ran through the front door of the house. 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end-chapter teaser wasn't that bad this time, right? Right?! 
> 
> This chapter was an absolute blast to write. I love getting to write for the other Phanton Thieves, especially Haru. And Yusuke. And Ryuji. And, well you get my point. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! 
> 
> I would just like to make note that the story has now been updated to say that Sins of the Father will be 10 chapters long. Which means as of this chapter there will only be 3 chapters left. So get ready, everybody! It's time for the end game!
> 
> Finally, as always, if enjoyed reading this, please feel free to leave me a kudos. Also, tell me how you felt about this story down in the comments, be it good, bad, or anywhere in between! And finally, if you're interested in keeping up on my work, feel free to follow my page! There's a lot of exciting stuff coming up that you're not going to want to miss! :D


	8. This Old House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final battle is here. Joker and the Phantom Thieves are facing against Father Hydra, the shadow of Touma Kurusu's true form. Joker's got a plan, but nobody knows what it is, or if it'll work. Only one way to find out...

"Keep that thing busy while I run inside!" Joker said, looking back at the rest of the thieves as they piled out of the van.

"Leave it to us!" Skull said as he summoned his Persona, Seiten Taisei. The rest of the thieves nodded in response.

Joker nodded back and ran through the front door of the house.

Skull watched as Joker ran into his home, and then nodded. "Whatever you got in mind, I've got faith in you, Leader."

Skull turned around and pulled out his morning star, and then watched as Father Hydra rose up from the rubble of the town in the near distance.

"Let's rock the house!" Skull said, a grin on his face.

"Do you have a plan?" Queen asked, Anat rolling up and appearing behind her, ready for a fight.

"Hit it hard!" Skull responded excitedly.

Mona sighed as he summoned Zorro to his side. "What disappoints me most is that he's actually right."

Noir stepped up, axe in hand and Astarte behind her and said, "I agree with Skull. Let's blast our enemy out of the sky!"

"We've got your back!" Panther said, summoning Hecate behind her, her eyes burning with a fierce intensity. 

"Indeed," Fox said, a satisfied and intrigued look on his face. "You have my sword. Take the lead, Skull."

Skull nodded and smiled at Fox, and then turned back towards his foe, which was now hovering about 100 feet up and away from the group. "You hear that, Hydra? The Phantom Thieves are going to put you down!"

In response, Hydra opened its massive jaw and let out a deep, bellowing roar.

"I think he sounds scared!" Panther said. "Hecate, fire away!"

Panther waved her arm in sync with Hecate, sending one of the demonic dog-like creatures which Hecate kept chained up forwards. It opened its jaw, and a large ball of flame fired out of the beast's mouth and flew towards Hydra, exploding against its face, leaving a charred mark.

Hydra let out another roar and raised its head. A bolt of lightning exploded from the light coming from its forehead and shot right towards Panther. Panther braced herself to get struck, but Skull quickly jumped into the air in front of Panther, the bolt striking him right in the chest. However, rather than turning him to dust, Skull just smirked and shrugged it off.

"Alright! Hit it back, Seiten Taisei!" Seiten Taisei, flying on the back of his smiling cloud, flew up into the air and held up his spiked metal pole towards the sky. A bolt of lightning came out of the clouds and sparks erupted from the pole, which Seiten Taisei began to spin around like a baton.

"FIRE!" Skull cried out, and Taisei threw the pole up into the air, catching it like a baseball bat, and swung it like one. As the pole swung through the air, the energy moved to the tip of the pole and took the form of a ball. At the top of the swing, the ball fired off and shot towards Hydra, exploding and sending lightning everywhere on contact with Hydra's side. This prompted Hydra to roar and also filled the air with _**BOOMING**_ cracks of thunder.

The pattern continued, with the Phantom Thieves standing together, each one using their Persona to fire off volley after volley of magical projectiles. Father Hydra attempted to dodge, but his massive size made him an easy target. And his counter electric attacks were having no effect as Skull threw himself in front of each and every attack. While this method was working at keeping Hydra back, the thieves knew that they would never be able to actually defeat Father Hydra with him like this.

But Skull could only do so much. He was visibly running out of stamina, his breathing getting faster and faster with each block.

"Skull, you need to relax!" Panther said, running up to him after he fell to one knee and clearly struggling to breathe.

"Nah, nah I'm fine..." Skull protested, giving a weak chuckle.

"Guys!" Queen called out, looking up at Father Hydra with wide and fearful eyes.

Skull, Panther, and the rest of the thieves turned to look at what Queen was calling out, and everyone fell silent as they saw Father Hydra's entire jaw open. Lightning starting building up within his cavernous body, the light so bright it hurt to look at.

"That bastard. Guess he had one last trick up his sleeve..." Skull said. He chuckled and then pushed himself to his feet, taking a step forwards. "Don't worry, I got this."

"Skull, no! You may be immune to lightning, but you're weak! That attack will kill you!" Mona scolded.

"Heh..." Skull chuffed, took another step forward to put some distance between him and the thieves, and then threw his arms out. "GIVE ME ALL YOU GOT, FISHFACE!"

"Skull!" Panther cried out. "Don't!"

Skull turned and looked at Panther and gave her a thumbs up and a tired smirk before looking back at Hydra, whose mass of lightning was about just as tall as he was. So much energy was built up that lightning was now pouring out of his eyes and the lights atop his head.

"Oracle, now!"

* * *

 

  
Joker ran through the front door of the house, leaving his Phantom Thief friends behind to cover him while he searched the house. He knew he needed to be quick, but he found himself locked up as his eyes moved about the first room he found himself in: the living room. He hadn't even been gone a year, and yet seeing this place again...

He stepped forwards, looking at the old box TV which sat on the old wooden entertainment stand. He looked at his dad's favorite recliner, looking as beaten up as ever. He looked at the pictures which were hung on the walls, pictures of him and his parents when Joker was younger. He felt tears start to well in the corners of his eyes, and just as he felt he was about to break, a familiar and comforting voice rang through his ears.

"Joker?"

Joker turned around and saw Oracle standing in front of the now closed door. Her eyes were filled with concern as she stepped towards him, placing a hand on his cheek.

"I know this is hard. I know you're feeling a lot of emotions right now. Believe me, I can see it all over your face. But our friends are in trouble, and we need to hurry."

As if on cue, a loud roar rattled the house, knocking several pictures off the wall, shattering on the floor. Joker grunted in response and forced himself not to look at the pictures on the floor.

"I know. Come on, let's go."

"Where to?"

"My parent's room."

Joker ran down the hall and pushed open the door at the end of the hall. His entire body froze as he walked into the room as if he had looked a basilisk in the eyes.

"Joker?" Oracle asked as she walked up behind him. "What's wrong?"

Oracle looked past Joker's frozen body and saw, lying in the bed of the master bedroom, was a woman with long, curly black hair and sharp facial features. She didn't even acknowledge that Joker and Oracle had walked into the room. It was like she couldn't even register that they were that, that they existed. Upon closer inspection, Oracle noticed a dark purple bruise on the side of the woman's face.

"Mom..." Joker whispered quietly. At this point, he couldn't hold it anymore. Tears started flowing from his eyes, out of his mask, and down his cheeks. He fell to his knees and put his head in his hands. "I'm sorry, Mom..." He said, gritting his teeth.

Oracle knelt down and rubbed Joker's back gently. "Shhhh, Akira. Akira, I need you to listen to me. We're here to set things right for your mom, but we can't do that without you."

After a few more seconds of shaking and wiping up tears, Joker finally took a really deep breath and looked up at Oracle. "In the closet on the floor, there should be a cardboard box. Inside that box should be a picture. Can you get it for me? I...don't think I can get any closer to her."

Oracle nodded and then kissed Joker slowly and lovingly. "Hang tight. I'll get the picture."

Oracle then got up and ran into the room, threw open the closet door, and knelt down. After rummaging for a minute, she sat still and looked at the picture, absorbing what was on it.

As she looked at the picture, another roar rocked the house, followed by a deafening _**BOOM** _ of thunder. Oracle, after finding her footing, ran back to Joker with the picture and handed it to Joker.

"Okay, let's go."

Joker and Oracle ran back outside and saw Skull standing between Hydra, who was charging up an unfathomable amount of lightning in his maw, and the Phantom Thieves. Everyone looked tired, but Skull looked like he could barely stand. He was going to shield the thieves with his life.

"Oracle, can you-"

As he spoke, he turned around and saw Oracle was already gone, rising up into Prometheus.

"Already on it. Tell me when."

Joker nodded, and then jumped up and grabbed onto the roof of the single-story house, pulling himself up and standing tall above the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

"Oracle, now!"

With that, Oracle flew over the Phantom Thieves and a blinding green light shone down upon them just as an ungodly amount of lightning exploded from Hydra's mouth, filling the area with blinding light. Once the light faded, the Phantom Thieves were revealed to be surrounded by burnt grass and smoke, and the entire town in front of them was nothing but ash.

Joker took a deep breath and stepped forwards.

"DAD!" Joker yelled at the top of his lungs, prompting the Phantom Thieves to turn and look at him. Hydra also stopped and looked down at the Phantom Thief in confusion. "WHY? WHY HAVE YOU BECOME THIS MONSTER? THE MAN I KNOW AS TOUMA KURUSU WOULD NEVER HAVE HIT HIS WIFE, OR RUIN THE LIVES OF OTHERS JUST TO PROGRESS HIS OWN CAREER! YOU WERE A MAN OF HONOR. YOU WANTED TO DO WHAT YOU LOVED, AND BUILD OTHERS UP!" Joker held up the picture into the air with one hand, revealing a picture of a young Akira with his father. Akira held a pretty sizeable fish in his hands and his father held a small blue fishing pole, and both were grinning widely. He used the other hand to remove the mask which covered his face. "WHERE IS THIS MAN? WHERE IS THE MAN I KNEW? _WHERE IS MY FATHER?!_ "

As Akira concluded, Father Hydra ceased moving. He let out a low, bellowing roar which resembled the sound of a distressed whale, sending ashes flying everywhere. 

"Oracle, hit it!"

In response, Prometheus once again began to spin as if it were building up energy. Then, with a small  _BOOM_ , Prometheus went flying forwards, rushing right towards the beast's head. Prometheus smashed right into Hydra's face, and it let out another cry as it crashed to the ground. Through the cloud of ashes, Joker could vaguely make out the form of the giant fish creature beginning to shrink and morph. After a few moments, Akira was able to make out the silhouette of the humanoid shadow of his father within the ashes, his trident stabbing into the ground and keeping him supported with one hand, and the same fishing pole from the picture, though adult-sized, in the other. 

Joker put his mask back on and jumped down from the roof, landing behind the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

Skull was the first to speak after a moment of intense silence. "I knew I could count on you, Leader." He was still tired, but he looked more stable now.

Joker nodded and smiled. "No way I was gonna let you guys down."

"Hey, guys, I don't mean to break this moment up, but I don't think this is quite over," Oracle said. "Touma's moving towards us."

Hearing those words, all of the Phantom Thieves readied their weapons and looked over at Touma, who was moving in their direction, limping with each step. His face was heavy and solemn.

Joker took a protective stepped forward, putting himself between Touma and his friends. There was an uneasy silence between them as Touma took a good, hard look at Joker. 

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere," Touma said quietly, and dropped his trident, letting it clatter to the ground. He then threw the fishing rod in Joker's direction, and Joker caught it effortlessly with a single hand.

With that, Shadow Touma dropped to his knees and was bathed in a bright white light. Joker looked at him, seeing regret in his eyes, and Touma simply nodded. He was returning to his body and making things right.

After a moment, the white light faded and Touma was gone.

Joker looked down at the fishing pole in his hand. "You finally listened."

After a moment, Joker took a deep breath and turned around to face his friends. "Thanks for saving our skins, guys."

Everyone smiled, and Skull stepped forwards to pat him on the shoulder. "Anything for you, pal." The rest of the thieves nodded in agreement behind him.

"Let us return home, then," Fox suggested. "This has been quite the exhausting effort. And, if you'll have a look around, it seems we're short on time."

Joker nodded, noting that the world around them was starting to fade away as Touma's palace collapsed.

"We'll have all the time in the world to talk back in reality," Mona said, doing a charismatic hop.

Joker nodded and smiled.

"Yeah. Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wait, Chapter 8 is up already?! I swear the last chapter was uploaded a few days ago!
> 
> ...because it was!
> 
> The last two chapters will be a wrap-up for the story arc, and Chapter 10 might have something a bit unexpected, so stay tuned :) 
> 
> Finally, as always, if enjoyed reading this, please feel free to leave me a kudos. Also, tell me how you felt about this story down in the comments, be it good, bad, or anywhere in between! And finally, if you're interested in keeping up on my work, feel free to follow my page!


	9. The Curry After The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touma Kurusu's shadow has been defeated. It's time for the Phantom Thieves to head home, but not before Akira and Futaba get one last moment of peace to themselves.

Futaba laid down in her hotel bed, barely able to keep her eyes open. She was  _exhausted_. Despite her physical exhaustion, her mind was racing as she digested everything that had happened. A lot had happened within Touma Kurusu's Palace, a lot which she would never be able to get out of her mind.

"Taba?" Akira said, walking out of the bathroom. Futaba looked over at him, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Instantly all the bad thoughts she was just having washed away as she looked at her boyfriend fresh out of the shower with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. 'My how the tables have been  _flipped upside down',_ she thought to herself.

"Earth to Taba?" Akira prodded when she didn't respond, getting closer to her.

She blinked and then shook her head quickly, and said, "I-I'm here!" Her face was quickly turning pink as she tried to force herself from staring at his chiseled abs. 

Akira smirked. "Futaba, you're my girlfriend. I don't mind if you look."

Futaba resisted the urge for a few more seconds, and then snapped, her eyes snapping down and staring hungrily at his bare chest. 

Akira laughed. "I felt like I owed you one after last night."

Futaba blinked and then tilted her head. "But that was your reward."

Akira winked. "I know. But tonight is our last night alone before we have to go back to the watchful eyes of Sojiro."

Futaba looked up at Akira, biting her lip. 

Akira leaned down to kiss her but stopped when she spoke.

"Hey, Akira?"

"What's up, Taba?"

"I'm...um..." Her eyes started to show signs of something being wrong, so she moved her view to the floor.

Akira sat down on the bed next to his girlfriend and wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"It's okay. I know a lot's happened. If you're not in the mood, that's perfectly fine." 

"You sure?" Futaba asked, worried she would disappoint him. 

"I'm positive," Akira confirmed. 

"Can we cuddle?" Futaba asked quietly, still hiding her face somewhat.

Akira smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Of course we can. Let me just put on some pants."

Akira got up and walked back into the bathroom. While she waited, Futaba moved from a sitting position to a laying position. When Akira came back out of the bathroom, he was indeed wearing black sweatpants. He crawled into bed and cuddled up next to Futaba, who curled up against his warm body.

"When Hydra jumped out of the water to eat me," Futaba said, barely in a whisper, "all I could think was, 'I am going to die'. It took me a while before I could even think about you. I wasn't even afraid that I was going to die. I was more afraid that you would have to go on without me." 

As she spoke, Akira wrapped his arms around his girlfriend more tightly. 

"I'm sorry, Akira. I'm sorry I wasn't afraid of dying."

"Hey, Taba," Akira said in a gentle voice, "Don't be sorry. You went through a horrible depression for a large portion of your life. You're still recovering from that, and I wasn't expecting your recovery to go without a hitch. You may not have been afraid to die, but  _you survived._ Which gives you even more time to recover. And maybe one day, your feelings about death won't be the same. Or maybe they will. But one thing I do know is that you have a reason to live, even if you don't fear death. You have me, and the Phantom Thieves, and your life back. As long as you have something to live for, you have a reason to avoid death."

Futaba listened to his words, absorbing them like a sponge with water. She sat there in silence, trying to find the words to say in response, but every time the same sentence came to mind.

"I love you, Akira Kurusu."

"I love you too, Futaba Sakura."

They laid together in silence for a while, enjoying each other's embrace. Futaba found herself getting sleepy, but now that she had a chance to talk and was starting to feel better, a different thought was coming to the front of her mind as she became more and more aware that her boyfriend was right behind her, half-naked.

"Hey, Akira?" 

"Yeah, Taba?"

"I'm in the mood now."

There was a brief moment of silence as Akira processed the words, but after they registered, Futaba found herself looking up at Akira who was now on top of her, smirking down at her.

Futaba smirked back up at him and pulled him down into a kiss. "Alright, Joker. Your turn to take the lead."

* * *

The next morning, the rest of the Phantom Thieves were waiting at the train platform. They didn't know what hotel Akira and Futaba were staying in, so they had to get their own hotel room at the cheapest hotel they could find. You could tell just by taking one look at them. Ryuji, who had to sleep on the floor, was sitting on a bench hunched over, complaining about his back. 

Ann groaned. "Ughhhh. Where are they? They're gonna be late!"

Yusuke nodded, looking down at his phone. "Indeed. The train will be here soon."

"Maybe we should call them..." Makoto said, looking down at her phone contacts hesitantly. 

"I don't think that will be necessary," Morgana said, curled up in Haru's lap, looking off in the distance. "They're coming this way."

Everyone turned to look in the direction Morgana was looking, and sure enough, Akira and Futaba were walking in this direction. Well, Futaba was actually trudging. Her hair looked wild and chaotic, as if she had just gotten out of bed. Probably because she had. Akira, on the other hand, looking as calm and collected as he always did.

"Good morning!" Makoto said, waving and smiling. Akira didn't respond verbally but gave a wave and smile in return.

"Nnnnn," Futaba grunted in response, prompting a laugh from Akira.

"Don't worry about her. She's not used to getting up this early," Akira said, putting his hand on the back of his head.

"Geh," Futaba responded. 

Yusuke chuckled. "Well, the train will be arriving shortly. Did you remember to gather all your things?" 

Akira nodded. "I think so. And anything we might've forgotten about shouldn't be that important. Right, Taba?"

"Blah."

Just then, the sound of the train exiting the nearby tunnel filled the air, and Akira turned and watched as the train slowed to a halt at the station.

"All aboard!" Ryuji called out, jumping to his feet. "Ow! My back..." 

"Let's go, Ryuji. When we get home, I'll pay for you to get a massage since you slept on the floor so I wouldn't have to!" Haru said with a sweet smile.

"I'll definitely take you up on that," Ruiji muttered as he picked up his bag and trudged towards the train, followed by Haru who swung her bag gleefully.

"Don't forget about me!" Morgana called out, chasing after Haru and crawling into her bag. "You better believe that I'm going back to your bag when we get home, Akira!"

"Wait for meeee!" Ann said, flailing as she grabbed her bag and chased after the others. Makoto was close behind, shaking her head at all the chaos.

"Well, let us return home, then," Yusuke said to Akira, his bag already slung over his shoulder. 

Akira nodded, and followed Yusuke to the train, with Futaba at his side. 

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Sojiro asked as he started a fresh brew of coffee. The smell of curry was strong in the air, and everyone knew that Boss had made curry just for them, to celebrate their return home.

Ryuji smiled. "I think that's best left up to those two," he said, pointing at Akira and Futaba, who sat at the bar next to each other. "We only got to see the finale." 

Futaba nodded. "It wasn't easy, but we think things will be better for Akira's family, especially Akira's mom."

Akira nodded in agreement. "I still can't believe my dad was so corrupt... But I guess nobody is immune to that."

Sojiro nodded. "Well, you all came back in one piece. So, as far as I'm concerned, you did a good job." 

Akira could see Sojiro was suppressing a smile, and that made Akira smile.

"You kids hungry? I got some curry just about ready."

Futaba grinned. "I'm  _starving._ I haven't your curry in  _foreverrrrrrrrr._ "

"It's only been a couple days," Sojiro responded. 

" _Foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,"_ Futaba retorted, collapsing dramatically onto the counter.

"Okay, okay, if you say so," Sojiro chuckled, walking back into the kitchen. "Kid, come in here and help me with this, would ya?"

Akira nodded, got up, grabbed his favorite apron and threw it on. 

"Lookin' good, Leader!" Ryuji said in response to the apron, giving a thumbs up. Haru, who was sitting next to Ryuji, giggled at the comment.

Akira grinned, and then struck a cheeky pose, which made Futaba swoon and the rest of the group laugh. 

"Would you quit messing around out there and help me?" Sojiro grumbled from within the kitchen.

"Sorry, Boss!" Akira responded, running into the kitchen. 

After a few minutes, Sojiro and Akira came out of the kitchen each holding up a  _huge_ plate of curry, more than enough to feed everybody.

"Woah, Boss. You expectin' someone other than us?" Ryuji asked, looking surprised.

"Nah, I just figured Futaba would want leftovers," Sojiro pointed out.

"There won't be leftovers if I eat it all," Futaba said, staring at the curry with evil eyes.

"Not without everyone else getting some," Sojiro said, moving the plate away from her.

Futaba groaned in response. "Fineeee."

Everyone grabbed a plate and made their way to the big serving plates, scooping some curry onto their smaller plates. Meanwhile, Sojiro finished his brew of coffee and began serving it out to those who wanted it.

"Mmmm!" Ann moaned with delight. "Delicious as always, Boss!"

Sojiro smiled a bit and nodded. "Glad you like it."

While they all ate, Haru suddenly peaked up. "Everyone! I have an idea!" 

"What's up, Haru?" Akira asked, curious.

"We should have an official party, like after all of our heists! And to celebrate the repair of Akira's family!"

Yusuke nodded while he took a sip of his coffee. "I agree. That sounds like a wonderful idea."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. 

"Alright, let's do it," Akira agreed. "Where should we have the party?"

"Hmmm..." Ryuji puzzled. "Ah! I got an idea!"

Everyone turned to look at Ryuji.

"There's this club I know. It's supposed to be the hottest club in all of Japan."

"Where's the club at?" Akira asked curiously. 

"Tatsumi Port Island!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who have played Persona 3 and 4, you know that the last line of this chapter was a total mic drop. Of course, this story is almost over, so nothing TOO crazy can happen there. Right?
> 
> ...Either way, just think of the implications :)
> 
> As always, if enjoyed reading this, please feel free to leave me a kudos. Also, tell me how you felt about this story down in the comments, be it good, bad, or anywhere in between! And finally, if you're interested in keeping up with my work, feel free to follow my page! 
> 
> And don't forget, the next chapter is the final chapter! Once that's done, Call of the Demon Lord will be taking center stage, so get excited!


	10. The King's Orders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves are having their celebratory party at Club Escapade in Tatsumi Port Island, and a mysterious stranger introduces them to a fun new game! But, the king's orders are absolute. And absolute power corrupts absolutely...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to remind you that this is the final chapter of Sins of the Father. I'll have a lot to say at the end, but I just wanted to throw this note in here at the top. 
> 
> Oh, also, some pretty gay stuff happens in this one. Nothing crazy, just kinda me poking fun. Just be prepared for when it happens.

Akira looked around at the buildings in the alley until he picked up a neon orange sign which read "ESCAPADE". 

"Is that the place?" Akira asked, pointing out the sign to Ryuji. 

"Yup!" Ryuji nodded. "Club Escapade! Let's go!"

Ryuji lead the way towards the club, the rest of the group following close behind. 

Futaba stepped closer to Akira, wrapping herself around his arm. "I'm a little nervous about this, Akira... I've never been to a club before."

Akira used his free hand and placed in top of her head. "Don't worry, Taba. If anything happens, I'll protect you."

Futaba smiled and leaned her head on Akira's arm, satisfied by her answer. 

As he walked, Ryuji looked over his shoulder and said, "Alright, Haru, can you work your magic for us?"

Haru smiled and nodded. "Of course! Just let me go talk to the club bouncer."

Everyone stopped and waited as Haru walked ahead up to the bouncer. The bouncer was a big, muscular guy with short brown hair. He looked fairly uninterested in Haru until she started talking. The bouncer listened to Haru for a couple of minutes, nodding occasionally and looking more intrigued as time went on. The bouncer pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number, holding it up to his ear. He talked to someone on the other end for a minute, and Haru looked back at the group giving a confident smile and nod.

Finally, the bouncer put his back phone in his pocket and nodded. Haru smiled excitedly and turned back to the group, waving them over. As the group walked up, generic pop music could be heard somewhat quietly from inside the building.

"Thank you very much, sir!" She said sweetly. 

The bouncer gave a small smile. "Not a problem, Miss Okumura. If anything happens, just come get me, alright?" 

"Yessir! Thanks again!" 

The bouncer nodded, and Haru turned around to face the group. "Let's go!"

Ryuji grinned. "Alright, Haru! You're the best!" 

Haru blushed and smiled sweetly. 

Ryuji took the lead once again, walking into the club and holding the door open as the rest of the group follows. The club's main room was spacious, with the majority of it taken up by the multi-colored tiled dancefloor. The back of the dancefloor was occupied by the DJ's set up, who was jamming out to some generic dubstep. The place wasn't overly crowded, but the dancefloor had quite a few people on it, so a large group getting over there wasn't exactly going to be easy.

Despite that, Ann's eyes glowed with excitement. "This place is  _awesome!_ Does anybody wanna come dance with me?"

Everyone looked at one another, nobody stepping up at first. After a moment, Makoto sighed. "Okay, I'll go." 

"Yay!" Ann grinned and grabbed Makoto's hand, pulling her out onto the dancefloor. 

"W-Wait! Ann, slow down!" Makoto protested as the pair disappeared into the crowd. 

After watching them disappear, Ryuji suddenly nodded. "I'm gonna go join 'em," he said to the group confidently, and then walked off into the crowd to try and catch up. She tried to hide it, nor could she really explain it, but Haru couldn't help but feel strangely...disappointed. 

Yusuke, who was examining the club intensely, suddenly stopped as his eyes settled on the bar, which was lit with a bright yellow-ish gold light. "I could use a drink. Would anyone care to join me?" The remaining members of the group decided to go with him. Futaba was still visibly nervous, clinging to Akira's arm. 

Yusuke sat down at the bar and chatted up the bartender, at least as close to chatting up as Yusuke could get. Only one other person sat at the bar, a young woman with medium-length blue hair. She didn't pay Yusuke any mind, just minding her own business as well as her drink.

Morgana was hidden in Akira's bag and was squirming a little. "Akira, can I come out yet?"

"Not yet," Akira muttered back. "Stay quiet until I can figure something out."

Nobody had considered how Morgana would get to participate in the club party. In fact, on their way there, several of the Phantom Thieves realized that they weren't exactly the party type. Though Ann was already extremely excited, Ryuji was pretty excited, and the rest decided they should at least experience the club life at least once, so they continued on with the plan. 

"Akira, I...uh..." Futaba's face turned red. 

"What's up, hun?" Akira asked.

"I...gotta use the bathroom," she muttered, embarrassed. "I don't feel comfortable going alone..."

"Hmmmm," Akira hummed. "Well, I can't exactly go with you. So, maybe Haru would be willing?"

Haru, who heard her name be spoken, looked over at the two. "Futaba-chan, is something wrong?" 

"Yeah, um, actually..." Futaba groaned. "This is really embarrassing."

"What is it? You can tell me! I won't judge you, I promise."

"I...gotta use the bathroom."

Haru smiled. "Don't worry, Futaba-chan! I'll go with you so you don't have to go by yourself!"

Futaba smiled, though her face was still red. "T-Thanks, Haru." 

Haru nodded, and started walking, with Futaba following close behind.

With nothing left to do, Akira sat down at the bar between Yusuke and the blue-haired woman, who looked up for just a moment to glance at Akira, but then returned to her drink.

"Can you get you something, sir?" The bartender asked, walking up to Akira. 

"Do you have anything non-alcoholic? I don't drink," Akira said, trying and succeeding to sound as mature as he could for a person not ordering alcohol at a club.

"Certainly, sir. Here's a list of our drinks," responded the bartender, placing a menu in front of Akira. Akira scanned the menu, looking at all the oddly named drinks until one jumped out at him.

"I'll have a Black Magic."

"Coming right up," the bartender smiled.

"A Black Magic, hm? Good choice," the woman next to him muttered. "Hm?" Akira said, looking over at her. This was the first time he had gotten a good look at her face. Her eyes were a dark gray, similar to his own. She wore a black leather jacket over a dark blue blouse, as well as black shorts with black stockings underneath. 

"Hm? Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud." The girl's face turned slightly pink. 

"No worries. I take it you're a regular here?" Akira asked, based on the fact that she seemed pretty comfortable at the bar, as well as seemingly knowing the drinks pretty well.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. I've been coming here since I was a teenager. I'm friends with the manager. How about you? You don't seem like you're from around here."

Akira nodded. "Yeah, I live in Tokyo. Never been around here before. My friends wanted to check the club out."

The woman nodded. "Reminds me of that one time..." The woman went quiet for a second, before remembering she was having a conversation. "Ah! Sorry, I got lost in my nostolgia for a minute there."

Akira chuckled. "Not a problem."

"What's your name, kid?" The woman asked.

"Akira. How about you?"

"Name's Naoto. Nice to meet you," she responded, offering a hand which Akira shook.

While they shook hands, the bartender returned with Akira's drink. It was dark purple, almost black towards the bottom. It had ice sticking out of the top, and a lime stuck into the side of the glass. 

"Here you go, sir."

"Thanks," Akira said, picking up the glass and taking a drink. He made a thoughtful noise as he absorbed the taste. It was fruity, though not overwhelmingly so. 

"Well?" Naoto asked. 

"It's good. I can see why you brought it up earlier."

Naoto smiled a bit. "Good. Glad you like it."

Naoto looked like she had something on her mind, but Akira decided not to press. He barely knew the girl, after all. 

But, eventually, she made her thoughts known.

"Hey, Akira, have you ever heard of a game called The King's Game?"

"The King's Game? Can't say I have." 

"My friends played it at this bar once. Normally I wouldn't recommend it, but you seem like a good kid. So, if you're interested, I'll tell you the rules."

Akira was intruiged. "Alright, shoot."

"Good answer," Naoto said with a sly grin, placing her drink on the bar and facing Akira. "First, you get some chopsticks. Then you mark one chopstick so that it's different from the rest. You have everyone draw a chopstick, and the person with the marked chopstick is The King. The King gets to make one decree to another player, and the player has to obey The King's order. If the player doesn't obey, then they're out. The King can decree whatever they want. All The King has to say is, 'The King's order is absolute!' Of course, my friends and I were all drunk when we played, and I'm not going to encourage that since you're obviously underaged, but I'd be a hypocrite if I judged if you did." 

Akira's lips slowly formed into a smirk as she explained the rules to him. "Sounds like fun."

"You said you came with a group of friends, right?" Naoto asked. Akira simply nodded in response. "Alright. Bartender! I need a batch of chopsticks and just as many VIP Room passes!"

"Coming right up, Ms. Shirogane," the bartender responded.

"If you don't mind my asking, why are you doing this? You're being pretty nice for someone you just met."

Naoto made a 'Hmmm' sound while she took a drink of her Black Magic. "I'm not sure. Something about you feels...special."

Akira's heart skipped a beat. Could it be possible that this girl knew he was a Phantom Thief?

"Well, I'll leave the rest to you. I've gotta head out," Naoto said. "The VIP room is in the back. It's nice and quiet, and with your passes, they'll provide some food and drinks too. Though, don't be surprised if you ask for non-alcoholic drinks and they bring you hard liquor." Naoto chuckled as she concluded. 

"Alright. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks again, Naoto." 

"No problem, kid. Maybe I'll see you around some time."

Akira nodded and watched as she walked out of the club. 

"Naoto Shirogane," Yusuke said, surprising Akira. 

"Were you listening the whole time?" Akira asked.

"Of course. I was sitting right next to you."

Akira opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't find any words. So he just dropped it, returning to the original topic. "Do you know her?"

Yusuke nodded. "She was a famous detective, back when I was younger. Apparently, she did not enjoy the lifestyle, so at some point, she simply disappeared from the media."

Akira nodded. "I wonder what she saw in me that was so special..." 

"Well, you  _are_ special, are you not? Just look at what you've accomplished." 

Akira was taken aback by the statement, but Yusuke was right. The Phantom Thieves had saved a lot of lives, and none of it would've been possible without Akira, even if he would never admit it out loud.

"At any rate, if you wish to play this 'King's Game', shall we gather the others?" Yusuke said, pulling Akira out of his thoughts.

"Yeah. Let's do it. It sounds like fun."

"Alright. Let us be off, then."

* * *

The VIP Room was fairly small but surprisingly comfortable. The majority of the room was taken up by a large bright red couch which wrapped around the whole room aside from the entrance and the front wall. The center of the room contained a small black table with a few snack foods and some drinks on it, as well as a stack of chopsticks. 

Akira and Futaba were sat next to each other, followed by Morgana who was finally permitted out of the bag. After that was Yusuke, and then Haru, then Ann, then Ryuji, then Makoto.

"So, whoever is the king gets to make another player do whatever they want, right?" Morgana asked. 

"The king's orders are absolute," Akira confirmed.

"Alright. This sounds like fun!" Ann said. "Let's draw!"

Everyone grabbed a chopstick from the pile until none were left. 

"Oh!" Haru said, sounding surprised. "My chopstick has a red dot on it! Does that mean I'm king?" 

Akira nodded. "That's right. Who are you gonna give orders to?"

"Hmmmm..." Haru thought about it for a moment. "Ryuji!"

Ryuji jumped in surprise. "Huh?! Why me?!"

Haru grinned, almost evilly. "The King demands that you...let me use you as a throne!"

Ryuji blinked, a little confused. "Uh...okay, so...what am I supposed to do?"

"Let me sit on you, silly!" Haru said, giggling. 

Ryuji's eyes got a little wide. "B-but..."

"The King's orders are absolute!" Haru said with a very commanding yet still sweet voice.

Looking defeated, Ryuji got up and walked over to Haru, who got up to give him room. He sat down, and Haru sat down on his legs, crossing her legs as though she were actually sitting on a throne. She grinned, obviously proud of herself. 

"Okay, round's over. Let's draw again. Previous king and subject can't draw this round," Akira said. 

Everyone drew again, and this time it was Futaba who spoke up. "I'm King now!" 

Everyone looked Futaba, somewhat in fear as to what she was going to say.

Futaba's eyes moved across the room, and then they settled on Ann, who looked back fiercely. 

"Whatever you got, Futaba, I can handle it!" Ann said.

"The King demands you kiss Makoto!" Futaba said confidently. 

Ann didn't seem too phased by the request, but Makoto's face instantly turned dark red. "Wait... What?! Why me?!"

Futaba laughed evilly, neglecting to give Makoto an answer.

"The King's Orders are absolute!" Ann said, and then grabbed Makoto's shirt, pulling her into a brief kiss. When they broke apart, Makoto looked a bit dizzy and Ann looked mostly unphased, though her face was a bit red. Everyone looked at the pair in surprise. Even Futaba didn't think Ann would do it. 

"...Alright, next round," Akira said, slightly in shock. 

Everyone drew their chopsticks other than Ann and Makoto, the latter still looking extremely embarrassed. 

"Heheheh..." Akira chuckled, holding up the red-dotted chopstick. "I'm the king."

Akira looked around the room, thinking about possible orders he could give. Then, after a moment, his eyes settled on Ryuji. Akira leaned forwards, a wicked grin on his lips. The glare of the light reflected in his glasses, hiding his eyes. He chuckled intensely and looked up at Ryuji. "The king's orders...are absolute."

Ryuji looked back at Akira in fear. "Aw, man! Not again!" 

"Ryuji, the king decrees..." 

Everyone watched and waited in anticipation, Ryuji looking like he was about to explode with fear.

"...that you take that glass of water, and splash Yusuke in the face with it."

"I'm sorry, wha-" Yusuke started, but was cut off as Ryuji quickly dived towards the table to grab the glass, and then splashed the water right in Yusuke's face.

"Agh! How dare you splash me!" Yusuke protested. 

"Sorry, Inari. The King's orders are absolute!" Futaba said, visibly trying to hold herself back from busting out laughing, along with the rest of the group, besides Ryuji, who looked extremely excited.

"Alright! That was awesome!" Ryuji said excitedly, sitting back down. 

"Good job, Ryuji. Okay, next round. Yusuke, you can have the next round off so you can dry off."

"Thank you," Yusuke grumbled as he wiped himself off with a towel.

Everyone drew their chopsticks, and it was quiet for a moment until Morgana spoke up.

"Well, would you look at that. I'm King, just as I always knew!"

"Alright, Morgana. Whatcha got?" Ryuji asked. 

Morgana was quiet for a second, and then looked at Akira.

"Alright, Akira. The King decrees that you tell us how you've been able to remain so strong and level-headed throughout all of this."

Akira was really surprised by the order. He never really talked about his emotions, especially not in front of the entire group.

Akira took a deep breath and whispered, "The King's orders are absolute."

"Akira, it's okay if you don't want to-" Futaba protested, but Akira stopped her. Everyone's eyes were on Akira now, listening intensely. While they would never want to push their leader into talking about something that made him uncomfortable, they were all curious to hear his answer. 

"No, it's okay." Akira took a deep breath, stood up, and began to speak. "It's true that we've been in a lot of incredibly tough situations together. The Casino Heist, being interrogated, the plot against Akechi, everything with Shido...even facing my father. It hasn't been easy. And, it hasn't always been easy to hold myself together through some of it. But...I do manage to hold myself together because I have you guys. You guys are the best support group I could ever ask for. Seeing you guys so determined to do the right thing helps me be strong, but even more importantly, I'm able to be strong because _you guys_ are so strong. Being with you guys is what allows me to be strong. Without you guys, my life in Tokyo these last few months would've been hell. But as it turns out, coming to Tokyo ended up being the best thing I could've asked for. Because it brought all of you into my life.  _That's_ why I'm able to be strong. I have to be strong so I can be a good leader, but also so I can be a good friend."

Akira looked around the room as he concluded. Makoto was smiling at him, Ann was sniffling and wiping tears from her eyes, Ryuji grinned and gave him a thumbs up, Yusuke gave him a confident smile and nod, Morgana continued to be a cat with minimal facial expressions, and Futaba...

Before his eyes could settle on Futaba, he felt himself being pulled back into the couch as Futaba pulled him into a tight hug, burying her face in his shirt.

Morgana nodded, satisfied. "Thanks, Akira. I...needed to hear that, after everything that's happened."

The rest of the group, minus Futaba who's face remained in Akira's shirt, nodded in agreement. 

"You really are the best leader a gang of thieves could ask for," Ryuji said, smiling. 

Yusuke, who was still wet, nodded, smiling as well. "The Phantom Thieves would be nothing with you, Joker."

Akira smiled, and then sighed. "I don't know about you guys, but I think I'm ready to head home. I think I've had enough of the club life for one night."

Everyone nodded in agreement. 

"Just remember, when we get back, we have to keep a close eye on the news for Shido's confession. It could happen any day now," Morgana reminded the group.

"Yeah," Makoto said. "We have to be ready for anything." 

"And we will be," Akira confirmed. "We're the unstoppable Phantom Thieves. We've never failed a job yet."

Everyone nodded in agreement, smiling wide.

"Hey, don't you think it'd be wasteful if we just left these drinks here?" Makoto asked.

"The woman who got us these passes told me they might give us hard liquor. So, it might be best if we just leave them be," Yusuke said.

Makoto nodded, and then looked at Akira. "Who was that woman, anyway?"

* * *

 

"Well, I'll leave the rest to you. I've gotta head out," Naoto said. "The VIP room is in the back. It's nice and quiet, and with your passes, they'll provide some food and drinks too. Though, don't be surprised if you ask for non-alcoholic drinks and they bring you hard liquor." Naoto chuckled as she concluded. 

"Alright. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks again, Naoto." 

"No problem, kid. Maybe I'll see you around some time."

Naoto got up from the bar, fixing her leather jacket as she did so. She walked towards the club's exit, moving quicker than normal. She nodded to the bouncer as she walked out the front door, pulling out her cellphone.

She walked down the alley until she was certain she was out of earshot, looking around for anyone who might be eavesdropping and then typed a number into her phone, placing it her ear. She waited as the other end rang and rang until a voice finally answered on the other said.

"Hey, Narukami. It's Naoto. Listen, I need to you something. It's urgent." 

She waited for a response and then continued.

"Yeah, I was just at Club Escapade, and I met this kid. I didn't think anything special of him at first, but then I got a good look at him."

The voice said something, and Naoto nodded. 

"That's right. That kid, and his friends, have been to the Shadow Dimension. I'm absolutely sure of it."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We did it, everybody! The fun, emotional, and cliff-hangary conclusion to Sins of the Father has finally arrived. But, of course, this story is far from over, as you can tell by the final section of this chapter. Why would Naoto and Narukami, two protagonists from Persona 4, be interested in Akira and his friends? What could all of this possibly mean?
> 
> ...Tune in for my next big project, Call of the Demon Lord, to find out. 
> 
> Writing this story has been an absolute blast. I'm SO happy with how it's turned out, and how much everyone has enjoyed it. Sins of the Father has, for as short of a time that it's been in production, done a lot for me. It's made me feel more confident in my abilities as a writer, has helped me get more into the entire Persona series, and has even made me some friends whom I hold very near and dear to my heart. 
> 
> But I'm also glad that it's over, because Sins of the Father was just the beginning. Call of the Demon Lord was my first idea for a Persona Fanfiction, and I'm SUPER excited to really get rolling on it. That said, I do have one project that I need to get out of the way before Call of the Demon Lord can really get started. What is this project you may ask? Well, you'll have to stay tuned to find out!
> 
> Finally, I'd like to give a massive thank you to anyone who has read, gave kudos, commented, or has in any way been involved with Sins of the Father. You're all absolutely amazing. Even if you read my story and absolutely hated it, you're still amazing. ESPECIALLY since you got all the way to end! Seriously, to everyone who has ever been involved with my crazy story, thank you. I also want to give an especially big shout out to my friend and editor Tidus, because that guy does such a great job of catching all of my little mistakes and has really helped improve the quality of this entire series. 
> 
> Okay, that's all from me. Once again, thank you all so, so much for sticking with me for this long. And, I hope you'll stick with me for a bit longer. This is far from over. In fact, I'd say this is only just the beginning...


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